Natural Born Cyborgs

It may sound very apocalyptic, but it is a very remote possibility.     

And yet something that we have to think about before it is too late.

Absolutely! We do want policies in place for how things should be used.

Right, and that’s why we collaborated not just with engineers and programmes, but with doctors, patients, ethicists, etc.

Sounds like a very good idea. Still: are you a cyborg when you have an IMD? 😅

Wow, that’s quite the question! I’m not sure, it seems like a gradual thing …

Gradual? What do you mean? 🤔

Well, “cyborg” sounds like you’re half a robot, not a natural human anymore.

But we do so many other things that aren’t, you know, “biologically” natural

Like, … wearing clothes? Unlike animals? 😉

Yeah, maybe that is how it started, but think of everything else too: fire, tool use, building houses, etc.

and then specifically changing our bodies. Wouldn’t every medical intervention make you “unnatural” then?

There actually are some religions that suggest stuff like that …

I know, but that’s not how I feel. Am I a cyborg for wearing glasses? Wearing contacts? Getting eye surgery? 🤓

I see what you mean with “gradual” now …

It’s not like a BCI or IMD takes over, it modifies who you are and how you act, just like a pill, or a glass of wine 

So, it’s more subtle than that

Exactly. It’s not like a pacemaker or a BCI turn you into a robot, in a sense it is not unlike any other tool, but now it is part of your body. 

And because it changes what you can do, it is of ethical concern?

Yes, anything that restores our capacity for action or gives us new options, raises ethical issues 

Thank you so much! This has been very helpful! 😊