2020-02-22_New_Scientist

22 February 2020 | New Scientist | 19

Brain implants used to

treat Parkinson’s disease

might enhance cognition

A company called Kernel is

working on a brain implant

to boost human intelligence,

while Neuralink, which Elon Musk

co-founded, aims to connect

people’s brains to computer-based

artificial intelligence.

Because these devices target

our brains, they have a greater

potential to affect the

characteristics that make us

human, says Chandler. Hip

replacements and insulin pumps

are one thing, but “it seems

somehow a little different when

you’re talking about an implant

that’s meant to directly modify

mental functioning”, she says.

In the future, the law may

distinguish between “enhanced”

and “unenhanced” humans,

says Chandler. “People fuss about

cheating,” she says. “If people

cognitively enhance in the context

of a competition, does that break

the rules or not?” Courts may

eventually be forced to decide,

she says.

Some futurists predict that

we will one day be able to upload

the contents of our brains onto

a computer. Would such an

upload be human? “I guess that

would be a place to apply the

substantially human test that

we propose,” says Greely.

In the meantime, there are

plenty of scientific and technical

achievements to keep ethicists

and lawyers busy. “We should err

on the side of generosity: if we’re

uncertain of the status, we should

grant the status,” says Savulescu.

“Unless we’re certain this thing

is closer to a pig than it is to a

human, we should treat it as a

human until we know more.” ❚

self-consciousness. “We have to

get off the fence and decide what

it is about life that makes killing

that being especially wrong,”

says Savulescu.

Other potential legal cases

will surround the physical and

cognitive enhancement of

humans, says Jennifer Chandler

at the University of Ottawa.

Technically, we humans have

been cognitively enhancing

ourselves for as long as we have

been around. Education improves

our thinking, for instance.

But newer approaches that

involve stimulating the brain

using implanted devices start

to merge human and machine,

she says. Brain implants are

already being used to treat

conditions like epilepsy and

Parkinson’s disease, and are

currently being investigated

in a range of other conditions.

Some neuroscientists are

attempting to tweak the way

those implants work to enhance

cognition. One team has already

used a device originally implanted

to treat epilepsy to improve

memory in a group of volunteers.

“We have to get off

the fence and decide

what about life makes

killing it wrong?”

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says Savulescu. “How do you
evaluate that in a life form that
doesn’t speak our language and
communicate in the way we do?”
he asks.
It is a pressing question. Greely
thinks that the first legal cases
will surround the treatment
of substantially human tissues.
If a human organ is grown in
a lab from an individual’s cells,
how should it be dealt with and
disposed of? “There are statutes
that require human remains
be treated with certain kinds of
respect,” he says. For example,
in the UK, human tissue must be
disposed of in accordance with the
donor’s wishes, as far as possible.

Enter the chimera

Savulescu, however, thinks
the first legal cases will involve
human-animal chimeras: animals
that contain cells from two species.
Human-pig chimeras are
already being grown. These
contain cells that could allow
them to develop human organs,
although, so far, the resulting
embryos have been destroyed
before this happens. The idea is
that transplant organs could be
made in pigs using a person’s cells,
allowing them to circumvent
lengthy waiting lists for human-
donated organs. In theory, the
organs should be human enough
to avoid being rejected by the
recipient’s immune system.
But at what point do the pigs
themselves become too human
to be used in this way? Mice with
human brain cells are smarter
than typical mice, and perform
four times better on memory
tests, for example. There is a
concern that should these pigs
accidentally develop human brain
cells, they might also develop
some of the “morally significant”
characteristics of humans, such as

▲ Badgers

US president Donald

Trump is obsessed with

badgers, according to a

new book. Is it something

about the hair?

▲ Particle physics

Fancy spotting the Higgs

boson at home? CERN

has released data from

1 quadrillion particle

collisions at the Large

Hadron Collider for

anyone to analyse.

▲ Dinosaurs

The UK’s Royal Mint has

released three dinosaur-

themed 50 pence coins

to lose down the sofa and

be unearthed millions of

years from now.

▼ Betelgeuse

The red giant star

Betelgeuse has been

fading for months

now – mood lighting

on an epic scale?

▼ Wood stoves

Domestic pollution is

on the rise in the UK due

to wood-burning stoves,

but, hey, nothing beats a

bit of particulate matter to

make a house feel homely.

Working

hypothesis

Sorting the week’s

supernovae from

the absolute zeros

More Insight online

Your guide to a rapidly changing world

newscientist.com/insight

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