Scientists may be years away from successfully emulating a human or animal brain for research purposes, but the significant – and perhaps unexpected – ethical challenges such work presents have been outlined in a thought-provoking article in the Journal of Experimental & Theoretical Artificial Intelligence.
“Whole brain emulation (WBE),” writes Anders Sandberg of Oxford’s Future of Humanity Institute, “is an approach to achieve software intelligence by copying the functional structure of biological nervous systems into software.”
“The basic idea is to take a particular brain, scan its structure in detail at some resolution, construct a software model of the physiology that is so faithful to the original that, when run on appropriate hardware, it will have an internal causal structure that is essentially the same as the original brain. All relevant functions on some level of description are present, and higher level functions supervene from these.”
It is this similarity to a ‘real’ brain that triggers the substantial ethical concerns which Sandberg addresses in detail, including:
Read more . . .
The Latest on: Ethics of brain emulation
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Ethics of brain emulation” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Ethics of brain emulation
- UNESCO chief appoints experts to develop global framework on ethics of neurotechnologyon April 23, 2024 at 4:18 am
As demonstrated by another UNESCO report published in 2023, the pace of innovation in this area accelerated when newly available Generative AI was integrated into neurotechnology research.
- Exploring ethical and legal ramifications of growing brain organoids from human fetal brain tissueon April 8, 2024 at 5:00 pm
This method comes, however, with even more heated legal and ethical debates about brain organoids—debates that are already intense in conventional organoid research. "Our research seeks to ...
- Are lab-grown brain tissues ethical? There is no no-brainer answeron April 7, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Are lab-grown brain tissues ethical? There is no no-brainer answer Insights into ethical and legal ramifications of growing brain organoids from human fetal brain tissue Date: April 8, 2024 Source ...
- Are lab-grown brain tissues ethical? There is no no-brainer answeron April 7, 2024 at 5:00 pm
This method comes, however, with even more heated legal and ethical debates about brain organoids — debates that are already intense in conventional organoid research. “Our research seeks to ...
- How a Brain Transplant Might Workon April 1, 2024 at 1:08 am
But will more time, tools, technologies, expertise and, of course, money ever make it viable? If Poor Things offers a glimpse into the ethics of brain swapping, then that’s a frightening thought.
- Whole Brain Emulation (WBE)on March 18, 2024 at 5:00 pm
The leading scientific social networking website and producer of educational virtual events and webinars.
- Clinical Ethicson March 14, 2024 at 12:01 pm
Decisions in contemporary medicine can be complex and overwhelming. An ethics consultation service helps patients and doctors navigate value-laden conflict and uncertainty and helps determine which ...
- Consciousness Potential in Brain Organoids Presents Ethical Challengeson March 4, 2024 at 4:00 pm
With advances in neuroscience and the development of new technologies, new ethical considerations have emerged. This is particularly true for human brain organoids, which are three-dimensional tissues ...
- Protesters Rally Against OpenAI’s Military Ties and AGI Developmenton February 12, 2024 at 10:57 pm
Sam Kirchener of No AGI emphasizes the dangers of pursuing AGI, advocating instead for approaches like whole brain emulation that ... military ties as a crucial ethical boundary.
- What is Ethics?on August 5, 2021 at 3:20 pm
A few years ago, sociologist Raymond Baumhart asked business people, "What does ethics mean to you?" Among their replies were the following: "Ethics has to do with what my feelings tell me is right or ...
via Bing News