The new technology computational modeling in brain studies has led us to discover how human brain functions, how it processes our daily input of information from the environment and how and what are we thinking. According to Marano , in his article “ Ethics and mapping the brain”, “ the technology are bringing us closer to a world where blindness is overcome with visual prostheses and Alzheimer’s disease is understood…”Marano (2003) It is true that the technology brings benefits to the society, however, it is still unprepared to be widely used, not only because of the, accuracy of the machine, expensive cost and some ethical issues are still being question by experts and society in the world.
What is computational modeling in brain studies? Based on the new research by Tom Mitchell, a computer scientist and Marcel Just, a cognitive neuroscientist, by using brain scan data obtained from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), researchers able to develop a computational model that enabled a computer to correctly determine what word a research subject was thinking about. National Science Foundation (2008) . By comparing brain activation patterns generated by brain scan, the computer is able to identify thoughts. Other that that , the technology also have the potential to determine whether the subject is lying or not, by using fMRI to detect the significant difference of blood oxygen level in the brain between lying and truth telling. This technology is very useful in criminal investigation.
Accuracy of the machine is still a problem until today. When the computer is first tested, there are only a few research subjects involved, the result data does not include the whole human population. In other words, different person have different perspective on things, and different people may react differently, thus resulting in different brain activation patterns that may cause the computer to interpret the information wrongly. Arthur L. Caplan, a professor from Pennsylvania said that the machine is not ready to be widely used yet, because of the high false positive rates and false negative rates occurred. Marano (2003). For the case of criminal detecting, the inaccuracy of the machine may cause innocent people to be sent to jail. Besides that, the rule of the result of the machine to be made evidence in court is also questionable.
On the other hand, the cost of the machine is also expensive. If the brain scan services is made common to society, who would afford to pay for the expensive cost of the data processing? Another question popped up, if everybody’s brain image is easily taken and stored as a data, how is privacy ensured? People can be fired from company because of the interviewer got to know that the person have the potential of developing schizophrenia. This is not the right direction the technology supposes to lead. Children in the future may have their brain scan to determine whether they are suitable for certain lesson. The question “is your brain your fate?” occurred Caplan cautioned, “Yes, it predictive, but a person still can change things with learning and environment.” Marano (2003).
In conclusion, government’s regulations on the technology are important. They should set rules like who have the permission to use it and who do not, so that the misuse of the technology can be prevented.
Vocabulary/ Phrase :
Prostheses : An artificial device used to replace a missing body part, such as a limb, tooth, eye, or heart valve.
Cognitive : Having a basis in or reducible to empirical factual knowledge.
Schizophrenia : Psychiatry. Also called dementia praecox. a severe mental disorder characterized by some, but not necessarily all, of the following features: emotional blunting, intellectual deterioration, social isolation, disorganized speech and behavior, delusions, and hallucinations.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) : a form of magnetic resonance imaging of the brain that registers blood flow to functioning areas of the brain.
Predictive : being an indication of the future or of future conditions: a cold wind predictive of snow.
Reference:
Marano, L. (2003, June3). Ethics and mapping the brain (An abridged version of the original in The Washington Times). Retrieved August 6, 2008, from the Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics Web site:
http://www.cognitivelibert.org/neuro/brain_mapping_ethics.htm
National Science Foundation. (2008, May 30). A computer that can ‘read’ your mind
[Press release 08-091]. Retrieved August 6, 2008, from
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=111641&org=olpa&from=news
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment