While waiting to board a plane for a recent trip out of town, the flight attendant asked me to take off my mask for a moment to let face recognition technology check me out to speed up my flight process. I was amazed at the transparency of the application - I did not want to remove my mask in such a crowded place and did not permit my face to be examined.

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While this encounter sounded like an attack on my privacy, it also made me think of other biometric detection devices, better or worse, already integrated into our daily lives.

There are obvious examples: fingerprints that open doors and facial recognition that allow payment by telephone. But other devices do more than read a picture - they can read people's minds.

Humans beings and Machines

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My work explores the power of human interactions with machines, and how such interactions affect the mental state of the person working in them.

Human resource researchers recently focused on the development of machine vision systems. These systems sense sensitive biological signals - for example, the direction of the eyes of the heart rate - to measure mood swings such as confusion or fatigue.

It can be argued that these devices have undeniable benefits in certain situations, such as driving. Human factors such as impaired driving, which are among the leading participants in road accidents, can all be eliminated following the adequate introduction of these programs. Proposals for authorizing the use of these instruments are being made worldwide.

A separate but equally important application is the one proposed by none other than Elon Musk's Neuralink corporation. In a December 2021 appearance at the Wall Street Journal CEO's Conference, Musk outlined a near future when brain transplants would help patients with disabilities regain control of their organs through brain transplants.

While the concept once, in fact, the authenticity of computer communication has existed since the 1960s, the idea of ​​an implanted device with direct access to the brain is confusing, to say the least.

It is not only the power of these devices to create a direct bridge between the human brain and the terrifying outer world: what will happen to the data collected and who will be able to access it?

Freedom Cognitive

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This raises the question that, neuroethics - a body of multidisciplinary studies that explore ethical/behavioral issues related to neuroscience - is referred to as freedom cognitive.

Italian psychologist Andrea Lavazza describes freedom of thought as “the opportunity to express your thoughts automatically, without interruption, and to reveal them, in whole or in part, based on personal decision.” Freedom of thought is brought to the fore when technology reaches a point where it can monitor or even exploit attitudes as a means of developing the mental faculties of professionals such as doctors or pilots.

Or to control the mind of convicted criminals — Lavazza suggests that “it would not be so strange about the criminal system to demand that a prisoner of violent crime perform [a brain transplant] to control any new vicious behavior.”

The benefits of developing and supplying biological sensors and devices such as the interaction of the brain and computer in our lives are among the debate. Not only in neuroethics, which attests to the development of intellectual property rights around the world but also in all civil spectrums where it is argued that acts of inclusion must be governed by the same laws that govern normal body movements.

I will need to spend more time measuring the pros and cons of biological sensors and devices in my daily life. And if I am asked for permission to have my face checked to speed up the flight, I will reply: "Let's do it the old-fashioned way, I have no problem waiting."

Thank you so much for reading share your thoughts in the comment section : )

Warm regards,
@Winy