In January of 2007 the IEET suddenly doubled its web viewage, and the phones rang off the hook.
“Techno-Doping” and the New Olympics
by Jamais CascioOscar Pistorius, AKA “Blade Runner”—the South African sprinter who uses carbon fiber prosthetics in place of the lower legs amputated as a child—has officially lost his bid to run in the 2008 Olympics.
Of “God-Blindness” and Absurdity
by Anne CorwinSo, someone has finally come out and asked the question: Joe Carter of “The Evangelical Outpost” inquires, Are Atheists Autistic?
Cochlear Cyborgs : Human Issues with Cochlear Implants
by V.R. ManojSome deaf way wish to revolt against the hearing world and defend the autonomy of deaf culture. But not everyone has the luxury to revolt. For the unwilling deaf, there are now cochlear implants.
Electrode implant stimulates consciousness
by Moheb CostandiResearchers report in Nature that they have improved brain function in a minimally conscious patient by implanting electrodes into his brain.
The Accidental Cyborg
by Jamais CascioLet me tell you, being a cyborg isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. But it might be, sooner than you might expect.
Much Ado About Mirror Neurons - Empathy, Autism, and Bias
by Anne CorwinMirror neurons are theorized to be, according to some of the more heavily popularized literature these days, neurons which activate in the primate brain upon observation of another individual performing an action.
Poll: Is the economic cost to society from disability relevant?
The most voted option took into account a second-order effect of considering disability costs to society, namely the possibility that this could open a window for eugenic measures. This type of analysis is generally part of the IEET’s approach to the study of policy and technology, a sensitivity apparently shared by those who took the poll.
New poll: Should (legal, safe) nootropics be banned from academic tests?
The Future Is For Everyone (Or At Least, It Should Be)
by Anne CorwinRecently, a short informational article was posted to the IEET site entitled, Autism Bad For Siblings And Society in response to an autism-spectrum-themed issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
Differently Enabled Americans Call for Election Systems Featuring Both Accessibility and Security
by Dale CarricoChampions of electronic voting machines often tout their benefits for differently enabled citizens in particular. Although concerns about the underaccessibility of old voting systems are certainly legitimate (and overdue), too often this rhetoric of improved accessibility has actually functioned as a way of deflecting growing criticism of the extraordinary insecurity of many of the actual systems that have been put in place across the country.
Your Brain, My Brain, and the Posthuman Rub
by Anne Corwin“Here’s the posthuman rub: We are expanding our control into a vast number of realms that we previously had no choice but to submit to, stoically or otherwise.” - Erik Davis, Take The Red Pill
Modification, Consent, and Prosthetic Self-Determination
by Dale CarricoI have long been leery of the general term “enhancement medicine” to describe what are now (and will soon be in even more powerful forms) therapeutic practices of genetic, prosthetic, and cognitive modification.
Certain minds and certain bodies
by George DvorskyI’m the kind of person who learns by doing. This blog is largely a place for me to think out loud as I figure things out and formulate my arguments and opinions. It’s not uncommon for me to change my mind about some things, or to be persuaded by someone else’s arguments.
Why Progressives Need To Get A Clue About Disability
by Anne CorwinIn reading various discussions in various places recently, it has become clear that there is (as I feared) a bit of, shall we say, animosity between something that calls itself “bioethics” and something that calls itself “disability rights”. I am quite dismayed to see this, because I’ve been following a lot of the topics associated with these concepts and it did not really occur to me that there could be any contradiction or apparent rivalry between them.
Extremism in the Defense of Diversity Is No Vice
by Dale CarricoI appreciate the work of the radical advocates for the “disabled” at Not Dead Yet, and I have learned quite a bit about morphological and lifeway diversity from their resources. (If you want to know the reasons why I scare-quote the term “disabled,” you can read my piece, Differently Enabled.) I am appalled when such perspectives get dismissed as always-only “disability extremism” or what have you by their opponents, even when I disagree myself with the views being trivialized in this way.
Helping families care for the helpless
by George DvorskyBioethicists who work in health care are frequently called upon to make difficult decisions in often less than desirable situations. Thankfully, the steady introduction of new technologies provide ethicists, health practitioners and families with a variety of options. The trick these days is to choose the most desirable course of action. But the fact that most new technologies and the manner in which they are applied often appear shocking and radical at the outset makes ethical decisions even more difficult.
Transhumanism and Disability Rights
by Anne CorwinIf anyone clicks on my profile, they might notice that I have “disability rights” listed as one of my interests. I think it is necessary to explain my position here. I do consider myself a “transhumanist” because that philosophy is closely in-line with the outlook I’ve developed independently of even learning of transhumanism—but I am not in favor of some of the more eugenic-like aspects of some transhumanist lines of thought.
Differently Enabled
by Dale CarricoOccasionally advocates for the “disabled” will find themselves making arguments in which they seem to suggest that there might be something somehow “genocidal” about a woman’s choice to end a pregnancy that might eventuate in a differently enabled child. Rarely, but sometimes, this is literally the—to me, dreadfully misguided—claim the advocate is actually making. But more usually when they are talking this way I think “disability” advocates are trying to get at a much more fraught and painful point that is simply terribly difficult to convey:
Prosthetic Perception: Turn on, Tune in, Tune Out (and then hit Replay)
by Wrye SententiaReview of Michael Chorost’s Rebuilt: How Becoming Part Computer Made Me More Human (2005)
Diagramming Sentences of Value: Evolving Human Rights and the Terms of Geoethical Nanotechnology
by Wrye SententiaTalk at 1st Annual Workshop on Geoethical Nanotechnology, July 20, 2005 by Wrye Sententia, Ph.D., Director, Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethic.
And the Disabled Shall Inherit the Earth
by George DvorskyUninhibited about technological modification, they’re poised to be the first posthumans
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