Project FUTUREBODY at Karlsruhe ITAS: Impacts of Neurological Advances on the Human Body
A project at ITAS is looking into the development of technical options for improving human performance and the associated issues.
Dystopian science fiction films such as “Robocop” and “Terminator” were already pointing out possible conflicts in the 1980s when modern technology was used to optimize the human body. Interfaces between man and machine, programmable exoskeletons and prostheses – this has long been the present. The rapid development of technical possibilities for improving human performance raises questions.
Looking at the impact of technology on society
This is one of the reasons why the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is investigating the effects of neurotechnological progress on the human body as part of the FUTUREBODY joint project.
“You always have to look at the consequences of technology on society from several angles,” says project manager Christopher Coenen, explaining the purpose of the project, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and deals with ethical, legal and social aspects of the neurosciences .
Major advances in prosthesis technology
Great progress has been made in recent years, particularly in prosthesis technology. “We assume that prostheses that feel like natural limbs will soon be available as standard in this country,” says Coenen. For people who have lost an arm or leg in an accident or due to illness, such prostheses would of course be a blessing.
It must be possible to make changes retroactively
Whether technical or pharmaceutical means should also be used beyond therapeutic purposes to improve performance, however, is a different matter and is certainly controversial.
“Alarm bells don’t have to ring for every procedure,” emphasizes Coenen. But care should be taken to ensure that every person agrees to such an intervention of their own free will and, if possible, that the change to the body can also be reversed .
Boundaries are quickly crossed with children
In the case of this so-called human enhancement, i.e. the non-therapeutic increase in performance or “improvement” of people through the use of technology, the reason for this should always be asked. According to Coenen, enabling a person with a severe impairment who wishes to lead a largely normal life to do so is certainly okay. However, breeding a generation of superhumans is not.
“When it comes to the enhancement of children, however, the red line is clearly crossed for me,” emphasizes Coenen. After all, this is almost always preceded by physical intervention. This is fundamentally problematic without a medical reason because the right to physical integrity is a very valuable asset. In his opinion, parental rights should not be invoked here. This is particularly true, as is widely recognized worldwide, for genetic experiments with the human germline. These are intended to create optimized children with hereditary changes, as was recently done illegally in China.
Technology in the military is viewed critically
Coenen is also critical of the military use of modern technology for enhancement purposes. Such interventions in the bodies of male or female soldiers with lasting consequences should be outlawed internationally, as free consent cannot be assumed here.
Application scenarios such as that of a helmet, in which the feelings and alertness of those wearing it can be manipulated from a distance via brain stimulation, are worrying. “But we are not naive either and are aware of the realities,” says Coenen. In military research in particular, boundaries are constantly being questioned and the use of stimulants has been widespread in armies for a long time.