Brain-Computer Interface Blues: Ethical and Psychological Considerations in the Event You Upload Your Consciousness

The idea of downloading a mind from one brain and running it on another was the recruitment strategy for Cyberdyne Systems, but that could soon be more science than fiction. The progress in Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) is also taking off, heralding a new era of tech adaptation. But of course, as we peer out the edge to this technological Wild West a myriad ethical and psychological questions present themselves.

The Paradox of Consciousness

The real crux of the debate, however rages on in yet to be resolved conundrumnebulous nature consciousness. What constitutes a mind? Is it possible to digitize and transmit it while retaining its soul? Questions like these have been the existentialists' and scientists' favorites over centuries. We have come a long way to telling us much about the brain, yet we still know little or nothing for many of its mysteries related to consciousness.

Somewhere inside them there must exist a template of shapes and connections that they recognized as their own consciousness, which we might duplicate in plastic circuits. That in turn brings into question the scenario we're no longer able to tell apart between biological and digital types of a person.

Ethical Implications

The ethical questions surrounding mind uploading are plenty. Should a digital version of a human gain sentience, how many rights should they have as well? Is it a person, same rights and legal recognition as one that was born from physical flesh? These are tough questions, and there is nothing simple to say about them.

Controversial are the use of and potential abuse by this technology. Would these kinds of scenarios provide an avenue for creating digital slaves or soldiers through mind uploading? How would these dystopian futures be mitigated against?

Privacy is another important concern. Likewise what happens to our thoughts, memories and personal information if we digitize the way of communication. Who owns this data? How to secure it from the access of unauthorized hands?

Psychological Effects

Mind Uploading Technical Challenges Aside, Psychological Implications Abound [Infographic] What is the meaning of being a digital creature? Would we feel as if it were us, our consciousness and all, or would these thoughts be more remote? What sort of consciousness and identity will we be able to create anew?

Also, the move from life to living digitally begs a more profound question: what does it mean when we talk about death? Is one truly gone, if even just a mere sliver of their image can be preserved so long into the future?

The Road Ahead

Though the concept of mind uploading might drive one to think its science fiction, it is imperative that we have an unbiased and elemental conversation on possibilities through this technology. Fortunately, by anticipating and tackling the ethical (including legal) issues as well designing for our extant psychology we may ensure that the development of brain-computer interfaces does portend to greater good.

The future of this technology needs to be defined by a broad spectrum of stakeholders including scientists, ethicists, policymakers and public opinions. As we prepare for what lies ahead and as this work continues, addressing the directories of potential mass-killing or suffering events on a planetary scale, in part by some mechanism to address increasingly sophisticated systems-artifact-codes misfire-threats (accidental), reconsidering bolstered multidimensional customer-citizen State-stakeholders-Benefactors-Statelessness cooperation might be needed.

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