Denison Forum
Dr. Jim Denison
Imagine reading or listening to this article by controlling your technology with just your thoughts. No more keyboards or touchscreens. You could even control a video game with your mind.
The stuff of science fiction?
Actually, it’s now science fact.
Is this a good thing?
Mind-reading technology is here
Elon Musk announced this week that his brain chip start-up Neuralink has implanted a device in its first live human subject. The quarter-sized chip is designed to interpret a person’s neural activity so they can control external devices with their thoughts. The chip is currently in clinical trials open to patients who have quadriplegia due to ALS or a spinal cord injury.
I serve as resident scholar for ethics with a Christian healthcare system. In this context, I can tell you that medical ethicists consider topics like today’s conversation in light of four factors:
- Benevolence: the obligation to act for the benefit of the patient
- Nonmaleficence: the obligation not to harm the patient
- Autonomy: respect for individual rights and dignity
- Justice: the responsibility to treat all persons and patients fairly and equitably.
- More Here
