The history of humanity’s progress is characterized by innovation. From the printing press in the Renaissance [1] to the railroads of the Industrial Revolution [2], we mark new eras of enlightened social thought with advancements in technology, irrevocably linking our understanding of humanity’s advancement to that of technology. So what happens when the rate of technological developments – especially biomedical ones – begins to outpace the rate at which our definition of humanity develops?
Within the last few years, scientists have created brain implants that can turn thoughts into text. Made for individuals with paralysis, these implants have recently been taken up by various tech companies racing to be the first on the market – one such company, Neuralink, has already had millions of dollars poured into it by its founder, Elon Musk [3]. Many companies are approaching this technology differently in their design. In one study, the patient recognizes the imagined motion of writing and translates it to a computer, ‘reading’ the letters by differentiating between the brain activity associated with each one [4]. Another uses sensors to detect what would have previously been signaled to the vocal cords [5]. And the oldest models utilize a sort of mental ‘cursor’ which moves over a keyboard to type out the patients’ thoughts [3].
Currently, the technology is young, expensive, and complex. Its purpose lies in medicine. But the idea of a world where a brain implant can be bought as easily as a cell phone is not as fictitious as you might think. Some scientists hope that it will only be a few years before these implants are available to the public [4]. In fact, Facebook is one of many companies which envisions a future for its own noninvasive thoughts-to-text devices in the common marketplace [3].
However, notable ethical concerns arise with the recreational availability of this technology to society. Foremost, there are obvious inequalities that would be exacerbated by any public, supplemental biotechnology. Imagine a world in which the wealthy can buy brain enhancements. This inequality could tangibly reinforce class divisions.
Besides the inequitable repercussions of this technology, privacy concerns also emerge with these implants. How willing are we to allow a computer to read our minds? Scientists claim the possibility for these devices to read private thoughts is unlikely; the mental motion of ‘writing’ your thoughts out takes a lot of effort that probably wouldn’t happen by accident [3]. But does this same rule apply for the implants relying on vocal cord signaling? How much control does one have over what they think they’re going to say?
This question of control has a major impact on how we, as a society, would adapt to the idea of brain implants. For now, the use of this technology in medicine is life-saving, but its privatization could have significant ethical consequences, extending even beyond the inequalities mentioned above to a question of basic human autonomy.
If this brain implant technology became available to the public, if society were to integrate artificial intelligence into our minds, we would surely be entering into a new era of humanity. No longer would we be in the digital age – rather, we would be the digital age. If the technology were extreme enough, it might be hard to tell where the computer ended and the human began. It could start with a text being sent that shouldn’t have; would the blame fall on the person or the computer? And if the technology really advances, perhaps this uncertainty of volition could unleash itself in a more physical form. We might reach a point where we couldn’t distinguish between our choices and the computer’s [3]. Would we be in danger of losing our autonomy? This loss could threaten our sense of responsibility to society. Without this responsibility, the foundations of society would be endangered. For instance, we would have to find a new approach to justice without culpability. If we lost our ability to understand, sense, or make justified claims of autonomy, then it would seem that we would have to, essentially, redefine humanity.
Of course, the use of brain implants in medicine is extremely beneficial – rediscovering the ability to communicate would be invaluable for people with paralysis. It is easy to expand our definition of humanity to encompass the current medical state of brain implant technology. It is in its privatization, rather, where the consequences for equality can be perceived as a threat, especially as the implants become more intelligent. If this happens, we are bound to enter a new era of thinking, and thus a new era of humanity. We just need to make sure that this evolution of humanity doesn’t leave us behind.
References
1. “Renaissance Science and Technology.” Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2021. Accessed 30 October 2021.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-Europe/Renaissance-science-and-technology .
2. “Early American Railroads.” ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, 2008-2021. Accessed 30 October 2021.
https://www.ushistory.org/us/25b.asp#:~:text=The%20development%20of%20railroads%20was,country%20only%2050%20years%20old.
3. Corbyn, Zoë. “Are Brain Implants the Future of Thinking?.” The Guardian. Guardian News & Media Limited, 22 September 2019. Accessed 30 October 2021.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/sep/22/brain-computer-interface-implants-neuralink-braingate-elon-musk.
4. Stetka, Bret. “New Brain Implant Turns Visualized Letters into Text.” Scientific American, 12 May 2021. Accessed 30 October 2021.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-brain-implant-turns-visualized-letters-into-text/.
5. Hamilton, Jon. “Experimental Brain Implant Lets Man With Paralysis Turn His Thoughts Into Words.” npr, 14 July 2021. Accessed 30 October 2021.
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/07/14/1016028911/experimental-brain-implant-lets-man-with-paralysis-turn-his-thoughts-into-words.
6. “The Most Pressing Issues In Bioethics.” The Medical Futurist. Webicina Kft, 26 March 2019. Accessed 30 October 2021.
https://medicalfuturist.com/the-most-pressing-issues-in-bioethics/. [cited for article inspiration]