Ethical Assessment of Implantable Brain Chips
My purpose is to initiate a discussion of the ethics of implanting computer chips in the brain and to raise some initial ethical and social questions. Computer scientists predict that within the next twenty years neural interfaces will be designed that will not only increase the dynamic range of senses, but will also enhance memory and enable "cyberthink" — invisible communication with others. This technology will facilitate consistent and constant access to information when and where it is needed. The ethical evaluation in this paper focuses on issues of safely and informed consent, issues of manufacturing and scientific responsibility, anxieties about the psychological impacts of enhancing human nature, worries about possible usage in children, and most troubling, issues of privacy and autonomy. Inasmuch as this technology is fraught with perilous implications for radically changing human nature, for invasions of privacy and for governmental control of individuals, public discussion of its benefits and burdens should be initiated, and policy decisions should be made as to whether its development should be proscribed or regulated, rather than left to happenstance, experts and the vagaries of the commercial market.
The future may well involve the reality of science fiction's cyborg, persons who have developed some intimate and occasionally necessary relationship with a machine. It is likely that implantable computer chips acting as sensors, or actuators, may soon assist not only failing memory, but even bestow fluency in a new language, or enable "recognition" of previously unmet individuals. The progress already made in therapeutic devices, in prosthetics and in computer science indicate that it may well be feasible to develop direct interfaces between the brain and computers.
Worldwide there are at least three million people living with artificial implants. In particular, research on the cochlear implant and retinal vision have furthered the development of interfaces between neural tissues and silicon substrate micro probes. The cochlear implant, which directly stimulates the auditory nerve, enables over 10,000 totally deaf people to hear sound; the retinal implantable chip for prosthetic vision may restore vision to the blind. Research on prosthetic vision has proceeded along two paths: 1) retinal implants, which avoid brain surgery and link a camera in eyeglass frames via laser diodes to a healthy optic nerve and nerves to the retina, and 2) cortical implants, which require brain surgery and the pneumatic insertion of electrodesinto the brain to penetrate the visual cortex and produce highly localized stimulation.
Technology nowadays is getting more and more dangerous, especially to our ears. Every day we are subjected to videos, text sounds, alert sounds, alarms, and anything else that may be of use in life. These sounds seem to be happening more often which is damaging our ears. There is a solution to this damage though, and that is cochlear implants. These implants will bypass the damaged part of your ear to give you a sense of sound that can be made very useful to the patient. This paper will look into how the ear works, how hearing loss happens, why these cochlear implants are a good solution, how these implants work, cost and ethics related to these implants, and what the future holds for them.
The focus of this paper is how three different ethical frameworks could apply to medical human computer
The placement of implantable chips into patients for the purpose of accurately identifying patients and properly storing their medical history records has become a subject of a strong debate. Making sure patients are properly identified before a procedure and storing their health history records for future use has been difficult, if not impossible. The idea of being able to retrieve accurate patient’s medical history for a follow up care without relying on patient’s memory is a challenging task for many healthcare organizations. Many ideas and technologies have been introduced over the years to help solve this problem, but unfortunately the problem is still not fully resolved. There are still many errors in the healthcare due in part by improper record keeping and inaccurate patient identification. One idea that has being in discussion to eliminate these problems for good, is the introduction of a chip or radio frequency identification (RFID) technology implanted into human for the purpose storing medical data and accurately identify patients. VeriChip Corporation is currently the maker of this implantable RFID chip. They are the only corporation cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to make this implantable radio frequency transponder system for humans for the purpose of identifying patients and storing their health history information. The chip was first developed for the use of radar systems by Scottish physicist, Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt in 1935 just before World War II. (Roberti, 2007). This technology helps identify approaching planes of the enemy from mile away. Today, RFID has several uses. It is used for animal tracking. It is attached to merchandise in stores to prevent theft. It can be instal...
Steve Jobs left the world inspiring millions, and touching the hearts of anyone that appreciates technology. Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different, written by Karen Blumenthal, is an inspiring book about the extraordinary life of Steve Jobs. It tells a very interesting story and provides an abundant amount of information about Steve Jobs that others would not have known. Many people can identify Steve Jobs, but not everyone knows exactly what he did, how he did it, the struggles he went through, the great things he did, and his outrageous personality. People mainly know him as “the man who created apple” but he plays a bigger role and character than that. He changed the face of technology and inspired a generation. This book outlines the important events and details of Steve Jobs’ life. Blumenthal describes the ups and downs in Jobs’ life, and explains how he became one of the most influential people in the world. It shows how Jobs’ changed the world. It portrays an inspiring story
This external computer is a signal decoder which decodes the signals from the motor cortex in a real time scenario. The second implant is a pulse generator simulator and has wireless triggering capabilities. The pulse generator is implanted at affected
Whitman, Deborah. "Genetically Modified Foods: Harmful or Helpful?". Cambridge Scientific Abstracts. Available online at http://www.csa.com/hottopics/gmfood/overview.html. Accessed November 9, 2003.
...ment chips will constantly be updated to make everyone better and better. After all the improvement we will go through, this will ultimately take away the only thing that makes us humans, flaws. Although, with all the good that these computer chips can do, it can be used for negative purposes, such as mind control, seems like a very probably situation. People can already manipulate others into doing what they want with simple words and images, but just imagine that could happen with 100% certainty by controlling a chip that directly relates the others mental and physical performances of another. In addition the ultimate pursuit for perfection will have people obsessing to be better and better which can destroy any true competition. Cyborgs do have great intentions, but unless used for the sole purpose of medical therapy I believe it will cause more harm than good.
As the scientific field of Neuroscience develops and expands, so too does the discipline of Neuroethics. This new and emerging area of study aims to discuss the ethical applications of advancements in neuroscience. Over the past few decades, technological advancements in neuroscience have risen sharply. Every day, scientist’s understanding of the human mind increases exponentially. New technologies grant researchers the ability to make cognitive enhancements, carry out brain imaging and provide the human brain with a variety of different services. Neuroethics attempts to bridge the capabilities of science, with the social and ethical climate of today’s world. New advancements in what scientists can do, such as Brain Imaging, Cognitive enhancement, pharmacological enhancement of mood, and brain machine interfaces and non-pharmacological enhancement must be carefully examined to determine their proper and ethical usage.
In summary Steve Jobs grasps the attention of every graduate in the audience. He encourages and inspires all of the people listening to take a hold on life and to not let life take control of oneself.
Moonshine, hillbillies and a one of kind dialect is what comes to mind when most people think of the Appalachian Mountains and the Appalachia people in the eastern United States. Long identified by the population and commerce found in the area, the Appalachians are also an interesting geologic feature. Running from north to south, the Appalachian Mountain Range is one of the oldest ranges on planet Earth. Beginning to form nearly a billion years ago, the Appalachian Range extends from Alabama to Newfoundland. This paper will discuss the formation of the range in the Paleozoic Era. The different geologic features and patterns found in the northern and southern areas of the range. Finally, the Appalachia people, unique ecosystem and valuable resources found in the region. The Appalachian Mountains provide a unique place to study geological features and process.
Artificial Intelligence played a crucial role in our American history and the history of the world. Some view it as the vain pursuit of man to become god-like and create life, others, as the next logical step in computer technology. However, the conclusion is not nearly the most important part of it. The process of the pursuit of the creation of mechanical sentient life has also led to a much deeper understanding of how our own biological minds work, creating new methods to treat brain diseases, and other brain related disorders. Through this, life is longer sustained, but modern life itself would not exist without some AI programs today. Several AI programs control the stock market, and the military has countless uses for it, and we even rely on it at home. AI has advanced greatly since it began, bringing neurology with it, and modern America could not function today without it.
205). Steve Jobs was extremely effective in his persuasive appeal, his reported accounts were arranged in chronological order starting from his birth to his “almost” death. His narratives also conveyed relatable allegories, describing life-lessons such as; stay hungry, stay foolish, find what you love and follow your heart. He also communicated recounted anecdotes that retold his personal experience. Steve Jobs carries and extensive about of credibility, ethos, his success speaks for itself. He created a fleeting opportunity with his pathos scarcity cue when he told the class, they are the new but soon they would be brushed aside and to take advantage of the time they had.
"Profile: Steve Jobs of Apple." NBC Nightly News [Transcript] 25 Aug. 2011. Student Resources in Context. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.
Then, when I was three years old, I had surgery to get a cochlear implant at the University of Minnesota. A cochlear implant is a small device which bypasses the damaged parts of the ear and directly stimulates the auditory nerve. Signals generated by the implant are sent by the auditory nerve to the brain, which recognizes t...
Tavani, Herman T. "Chapter 4 :Professional Codes of Ethics and Codes of Conduct." Ethics and Technology: Controversies, Questions, and Strategies for Ethical Computing. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2010. Print.