Ethical implications and theories about a new technology Essay

Ethical implications and theories about a new technology - Essay Example Sample (2007) reports that scientists working in the field of neurology have developed a system with which they are able to look into a person’s mind and see their intentions even before they are carried out. Essentially, it allows them to bug the mind of an individual much like a telephone can be bugged. The methodology is based on taking high resolution scans of the brain to identify the activity in certain areas of the brain which can be translated into the actual thoughts of the person. A brain image of this kind could reveal a person who is lying, having violent thoughts, has racial prejudices, or any other negative or positive emotions. While the process can be used to help in interrogation and crime solving it could easily turn into an Orwellian tool much like the thought police. Of course the brain scan could also be used to prove the innocence of an individual who has not committed a crime but the invasion of privacy and the violation of civil rights certainly bring up interesting questions. The technology is still several years away from being perfected but it is going towards a direction where hiding thoughts might be impossible. In a few years, scientists will be able to tell if an individual is lying or not simply by looking at their brain activity. In fact, we might even be able to know a person’s emotional state, background thoughts as well as their hopes and dreams with a good enough scan of their brain. The idea does have its positive applications since computers could be controlled with the brain and machinery could also be controlled with thought alone to provide the disabled with an unprecedented degree of movement. Thought controlled wheelchairs or artificial appendages could make losing an arm or a leg less debilitating than it is now. Clearly, there are both positive and negative sides to the debate on the reading of thoughts. To better grasp the situation in ethical terms,