The United States military has been researching the implications of inserting implants into soldiers. Researchers focused on “ocular enhancements to imaging, sight, and situational awareness; restoration and programmed muscular control through optogenetic bodysuit; auditory enhancement for communication and protection; and direct neural enhancement of the human brain for two-way data transfer.” However, the study found that public perception of the mass adoption of cybernetics was an issue especially because of movies such as those in The Terminator franchise.
A troubling aspect of this research is, for some enhancements to be made, a soldier most-likely has to be injured for them to consider getting the surgery done. Researchers stated, “neural implants for brain-computer interfacing would allow for seamless interaction between individuals and secondary asserts (machines). This control could be exerted upon drones, weapon systems, and other remote systems operated by an enhanced individual.”
As Doug Hill explains in his article, “The eccentric genius whose time may have finally come (again)”, Norbert Weiner is the inventor of cybernetics and his fear of the future was because of two things: Humans can’t resist selfishly misusing the powers machines give to us and the inability to control machines due to their automation and intelligence. He refused to work with the military and corporations for ethical reasons which according to Hill, may have hindered his progress in technological advancements.
The military is looking to cybernetically enhance soldiers to control machines, “but also transmission to operator (machine to brain) and human to human (command and control dynamics) to enhance situational awareness as drone, computational analytical, and human information is relayed to the operator.” DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, has already tested a prosthetic memory chip and even Elon Musk is working on a plan to “achieve a symbiosis with artificial intelligence” and merge humans with AI so they can be able to keep up with it. Musk plans to conduct human trials soon which are intended to treat brain injuries.
Wiener’s reasons for worry may have been far-fetched during his time, however, as DARPA, the Pentagon, and Elon Musk continue their research into the cybernetic enhancements of humans, it is more than ever a cause for concern. The ethical and legal ramifications of this research and implementation will have to be reconsidered as more money and studies are conducted in this area.
I found this to be a very interesting article. It is definitely an area I had heard very little about and one that will have interesting ramifications in the future. It is cool that it is an area that Weiner himself started. I do wonder how testing cybernetics will every be super ethical with the extreme risk surgeries have. In general good overall concepts, but I would recommend connecting with Wiener's work a bit more and exploring the ethics in depth. I think your approach was a bit too broad, and It took away from some of the depth and analysis you needed.
ReplyDeleteThis article touched on an interesting topic that may become very relevant very soon. As we continue to advance exponentially, cybernetics will, without a doubt, be a massive topic of conversation. I like that you centered your discussion around the idea that these would be used within the military, as that is where it would begin, however I would have liked to hear more about the ethical nature of cybernetics within the use of the general public. You did a good job mentioning articles by Doug Hill and Norbert Weiner, though I think your post would have benefitted more from having one of the readings on ethics be the center of the piece, with the idea of cybernetics only acting to exemplify the ideas. Otherwise, good article, very interesting!
ReplyDeleteI really liked this article because it was highly thought provoking. Super interesting concept, even though some may be a bit skeptical of cybernetics, I believe that when it come to the topic of our military it may not be super far out considering that wars are now being fought more with technology than sheer human-power. Drones and things of that nature are becoming more prevalent. Also, good job relating the ethics of this topic back to what we see on the articles we've read in class. Really awesome job! Really good article!
ReplyDeleteYour article is very interesting, and I like it. However, I think there could be more mention more connection between the ideas in the articles and yours.
ReplyDeleteI love this article, but I would like a little on how these are going at the moment such as are there protected dates of release and if so would it be heavily restricted such as only being used for military and medical needs or could anyone just pay to have a robot arm. That being said where would you stand on replacing parts just for pleasure and convince rather than need.
ReplyDeleteReally interesting blog! The cyber-tech is super relevant to what we discuss in the class and it will be the center of ethics discussion soon. I like you talked about the ideas of Doug Hill and Norbert Weiner but I'd love to see more connections between the theory and the story. One way I suggest is to analyze the story based on the readings and tried to mixed them together. This might create a better reading experience and make your argument more convincing and supportive.
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