Brain–computer interfaces and disability: extending embodiment, reducing stigma?

• Published in: Journal of medical ethics Vol. 42; no. 1; pp. 37 - 40
• Main Authors: Aas, Sean, Wasserman, David
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Institute of Medical Ethics and BMJ Publishing Group Ltd 01-01-2016; BMJ Publishing Group Ltd; BMJ Publishing Group LTD
• Subjects: Bioethics; Brain-Computer Interfaces; Cognition; Concept Formation; Conservatism; Disabilities; Disability; Disabled Persons; Feedback; Health aspects; Humans; People with disabilities; Prostheses; Reproductive ethics; Sensory feedback; Sensory perception; Silverware; Social Stigma; Somatosensory perception; Stigma; Technology; Visual perception; United States; Disability; Neuroethics
• ISSN: 0306-6800; 1473-4257
• DOI: 10.1136/medethics-2015-102807

Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) now enable an individual without limb function to “move” a detached mechanical arm to perform simple actions, such as feeding herself. This technology may eventually offer almost everyone a way to move objects at a distance, by exercising cognitive control of a mechanical device. At that point, BCIs may be seen less as an assistive technology for disabled people, and more as a tool, like the internet, which can benefit all users. We will argue that BCIs will have a significant but uncertain impact on attitudes toward disabilities and on norms of bodily form and function. It may be liberating, oppressive, or both. Its impact, we argue, will depend – though not in any simple way – on whether BCIs come to be seen as parts of the body itself or as external tools.