Is the act of creating a remote-controlled roach an immoral act?
Printer-friendly versionDo-it-yourself cyborgs
What it is - Attaching a 'brain controlling' kit to a cockroach to turn it into a remote controlled organism.
Where you've seen it - Well, you can see a video about it here:
My likely scenario - Not to be too calloused, but it's a roach. Groups will complain about the ethics of using a living creature in this way, but I don't believe it will catch on with the masses enough to change current laws. The technology will get more sophisticated and companies will come up with ways to control every more complex organisms. If there is a profit in this, and I can't imagine the military-industrial complex won't be interested, we'll see development this century. Testing is already happening to humans for one to control another at a distance.
As long as testing is on unloved animal species and human volunteers, I believe we'll see consistent advancement in these technologies. What happens in other countries with different laws and no democratic vote may paint a very different future.
BTW - You can order live cockroaches online for scientific testing. If that is legal, testing won't be easily challenged.
Your thoughts? Is it okay to kill a roach and add a control chip to it? What about a mouse? Or a cat? Or you?
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This topic is from an article by the Reilly center, who offered 10 issues "for scientists, policy makers, journalists, and lay people to consider' as technological advances change our lives. It's a great opportunity for everyone to do just that, consider where we, as individuals - voting and purchasing individuals, stand on these issues. Here are my first thoughts on each with a plan for deeper consideration in future articles.
I am not including the full content of their article. You should read it for their viewpoints and additional resources
Interested in the social impact of our future advancements, Daryl developed and built Regarding Tomorrow as a platform to share and discuss our collective hopes and fears of the future. Daryl's background is in education, including graduate studies in special needs and a masters in instructional technology from UVA's Curry School of Education. He has worked as a high school teacher and has over 10 years of university experience in the US and Canada.