theOlster.net

The BBC have recently published a news artificial on the neuromotor prosthesis. A sensory chip embedded in the brain is used to capture a movement command which in turn is connected to a computer used to interpret these commands accordingly. So Matthew Nagel who has been paralysed from the neck down is now able to operate a computer using his brain. This is quite something! The relative freedom he now has is something he must be very grateful for.

This is very cool, very sci-fi, and the potential for this technology is really only just beginning. When you look at a keyboard and a mouse, there aren’t that many variables to control… so it will just take time for the technology to be improved much further and provide help to many similar people. For example Stephen Hawking struggles to write papers because of the limited use of his limbs. This technology would allow him to work.

But I have my concerns… There will always be people who will misuse this kind of technology. As a race we must be careful of our advances and always consider the ethics behind our inventions. Imagine your mind directly hooked up to the internet, and the havoc you could cause with it… much more powerful than a computer alone.