This past weekend, my roommates and I made it over to the Artists and Robots exhibition. The trip fit well with the upcoming topics for the week, as we discussed a lot about robotic body parts and the use of technology as an enhancement to humans. During the week we actually even watched a movie in our neuroethics class about prosthetics and some examples of how technology is being utilized to advance the body. The moment where this would propose an ethical concern is in the idea of advancing humans into non-human things–it’s difficult to draw the line between what’s acceptable and what may be too far.
On the one hand, this type of technology is allowing people with disabilities or amputated limbs to regain function in their limbs or be able to move about and walk again. On the other hand, at what point are we more robotic than human? If we replace all four limbs with bionic limbs, are they considered to be a part of our body?
We’ve been discussing this idea for a few classes now and I’m actually a bit more confident talking about both sides. I honestly can’t decide which side I’m on but can argue for both.
The reason I bring all this up is because at the exhibition, I came across a bionic arm prototype. There was the arm and a video of someone wearing a whole suit of technology, allowing his entire body to have enhanced function (see figure 1). It’s not surprising to realize that prosthetic limbs have changed by quite a bit in the past few years. Researchers have now done things like reduce the weight of the prosthetic as well as a develop “a better range of functional grips” (Clement et al. 2011). This could all be great for those who have experienced a loss of a functional body part. However, there are ethical implications. For example, another concern that arose from our discussions included responsibility. If someone has a bionic arm and they shake hands with another person and end up crushing that person’s hand due to too much pressure applied by the arm, who’s at fault? The responsibility may fall in the hands of the bionic arm owner, manufacturer, or researcher, but who’s to say which?
As such, as technology progresses, we’re able to utilize it more in terms of ambulating humans or providing function, but there are still many concerns that may be addressed before it becomes a popular form of enhancement in the public.
References:
Clement, R. G., Bugler, K. E., & Oliver, C. W. (2011, July 13). Bionic prosthetic hands: A review of present technology and future aspirations. Retrieved from https://www-sciencedirect-com.proxy.library.emory.edu/science/article/pii/S1479666X11000904