Hi, >From Bob Mottram on the AGI list: > However, I'm not expecting to see the widespread cyborgisation of > human society any time soon. As the article suggests the first > generation implants are all devices to fulfill some well defined > medical need, and will have to go through all the usual lengthy > testing procedures before they're generally accepted. Only after the > initial medical phase which could last several decades will brain > implants be sufficiently inexpensive and be considered sufficiently > safe that people start to think about using these things as a > lifestyle, work or leisure enhancement rather as cosmetic surgery is > today.
Hmmm... it's interesting to speculate, though... If it were possible to wire a calculator into the brain, this could dramatically increase the effectiveness of certain kinds of work, right? So, if a certain nation were to make laws allowing this, and to encourage research into this, then potentially they could gain a dramatic advantage over other nations... There does therefore seem a possibility for a "brain enhancement race" if a case is made to some national government that within say 10-20 years effort a massively productivity-increasing brain-enhancement could be made. This is not really an AGI topic, though, so I'm cross-posting to the Singularity list and I think discussion should continue there if anyone feels like it. (Though the topic may be sufficiently obvious not to need follow-up discussion...) -- Ben ----- This list is sponsored by AGIRI: http://www.agiri.org/email To unsubscribe or change your options, please go to: http://v2.listbox.com/member/?member_id=4007604&id_secret=76042938-27fe54
