Yesterday, the journal Nature reported researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine had successfully tested a robotic arm which was controlled using only the signals from a monkey’s arm. (A good overview of the technology can be read in this article: ”Mind over Matter: Monkey Feeds tself using its Brain”.)
The test was not the first such test but it does suggest that the technology is getting better and will likely someday soon be used to aide people with spinal cord injuries or other debilitating diseases such as Lou Gehrig’s disease or MS.
I would, however, encourage people to think beyond these immediate applcations. Michael Berger of Nanowerk recently had a very thoughtful—and thought-provoking—piece entitled Nanotechnology, transhumanism and the bionic man, in which he discusses how technologies which were initially created for the disabled could become a platform for “the acceptance of transhumanist ideas and products.”
He is right and the aforementioned brain-neural technology is a perfect case in point. In the beginning, it will be sold as a tool for the disabled but as the technology continues to improve it will eventually be viewed by some people (but not all) as a way to perform at a higher level—both mentally and physically. I discussed this idea briefly in this piece entitled ”Pong and the President’s Brain” a few months ago, but the issue is worth thinking about in greater detail.
The benefits of such a technology are obvious to me, but so too is the concern that brain-neural/robotic technology will first be adopted by the “haves” and it will give them an even greater advantage over the “have-nots.”
I wish I had a grand solution for balancing the positive benefits of the technology with its potential costs—which I would define as the unfair advantage between those who can afford the technology will have over those who cannot initially afford it.
I’d be interested in hearing the thoughts of whether you have the same concerns; and, if so, how you think society might address this issue.
P.S. For those interested, here’s a short one-minute video of the monkey “thinking” a banana into its mouth:
