Neurotechnology in National Security and Defense


Book Description

Neurotechnology in National Security and Defense: Practical Considerations, Neuroethical Concerns is the second volume in the Advances in Neurotechnology series. It specifically addresses the neuroethical, legal, and social issues arising from the use of neurotechnology in national security and defense agendas and applications. Of particular concern are the use of various neurotechnologies in military and intelligence operations training, acquisition of neurobiological and cognitive data for intelligence and security, military medical operations, warfighter performance augmentation, and weaponization of neuroscience and neurotechnology. The contributors discuss the neuroethical questions and problems that these applications generate as well as potential solutions that may be required and developed. The book examines how developments in neurotechnology in national security and defense agendas are impacted by and affect ethical values and constructs, legal considerations, and overall conduct of the social sphere. Presenting an integrative perspective, leading international experts lay the scientific groundwork and establish the premises necessary to appreciate the ethical aspects of neurotechnology in national security and defense. It is not a question of "if" neurotechnology will be used in such ways, but when, how, and to what extent. Therefore, it is imperative to foster a deeper understanding of neurotechnology, the problems and debates arising from its use in national security and defense, and how such issues can and should be addressed. In doing so, we can guide and govern the use of these innovative neurotechnologies in ways that uphold ethical accountability.




The Ethics of Neuroscience and National Security


Book Description

New advances in neuroscience promise innovations in national security, especially in the areas of law enforcement, intelligence collection, and armed conflict. But ethical questions emerge about how we can, and should, use these innovations. This book draws on the open literature to map the development of neuroscience, particularly through funding by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, in certain areas like behavior prediction, behavior modification, and neuroenhancement, and its use in the creation of novel weapons. It shows how advances in neuroscience and new technologies raise ethical issues that challenge the norms of law enforcement, intelligence collection, and armed conflict, broadly grouped under the term "national security." Increasing technological sophistication without attention to ethics, this book argues, risks creating conditions for the development of "dual-use" technologies that may be prone to misuse, are grounded in an incomplete understanding of the brain, or are based on a limited view of the political contexts in which these technologies arise. A concluding section looks at policy and regulatory options that might promote the benefits of emerging neuroscience, while mitigating attendant risks. Key Features: First broad survey of the ethics of neuroscience as it applies to national security Innovative ethical analysis over a range of cross-cutting technologies including behavior prediction and modification tools, human enhancement, and novel lethal and nonlethal weapons Ethical analysis covering all stages from the development, testing, and use (or misuse) of these technologies; and decisions from the individual scientist to the nation state Strong policy focus at multiple levels, from self-governance to international regulation Combination of philosophical analysis with grounded, practical recommendations




Military Neuroscience and the Coming Age of Neurowarfare


Book Description

Krishnan describes military applications of neuroscience research and emerging neurotechnology with relevance to the conduct of armed conflict and law enforcement. This work builds upon literature by scholars such as Moreno and Giordano and fills an existing gap, not only in terms of reviewing available and future neurotechnologies and relevant applications, but by discussing how the military pursuit of these technologies fits into the overall strategic context. The first to sketch future neurowarfare by looking at its potentials as well as its inherent limitations, this book’s main theme is how military neuroscience will enhance and possibly transform both classical psychological operations and cyber warfare. Its core argument is that nonlethal strategies and tactics could become central to warfare in the first half of the twenty-first century. This creates both humanitarian opportunities in making war less bloody and burdensome as well as some unprecedented threats and dangers in terms of preserving freedom of thought and will in a coming age where minds can be manipulated with great precision.




Sociological Reflections on the Neurosciences


Book Description

The neurosciences are more than a collection of scientific practices - they offer up various ways of thinking about mind, body and society. This title casts light on the place, role and impact of neuroscience. It reflects on the insights the neurosciences have to offer sociology.




The Applied Ethics of Emerging Military and Security Technologies


Book Description

The essays in this volume illustrate the difficult real world ethical questions and issues arising from accelerating technological change in the military and security domains, and place those challenges in the context of rapidly shifting geopolitical and strategic frameworks. Specific technologies such as autonomous robotic systems, unmanned aerial vehicles, cybersecurity and cyberconflict, and biotechnology are highlighted, but the essays are chosen so that the broader implications of fundamental systemic change are identified and addressed. Additionally, an important consideration with many of these technologies is that even if they are initially designed and intended for military or security applications, they inevitably spread to civil society, where their application may raise very different ethical questions around such core values as privacy, security from criminal behaviour, and state police power. Accordingly, this volume is of interest to students of military or security domains, as well as to those interested in technology and society, and the philosophy of technology.




Viruses, Hardware and Software Trojans


Book Description

This book provides readers with a valuable reference on cyber weapons and, in particular, viruses, software and hardware Trojans. The authors discuss in detail the most dangerous computer viruses, software Trojans and spyware, models of computer Trojans affecting computers, methods of implementation and mechanisms of their interaction with an attacker — a hacker, an intruder or an intelligence agent. Coverage includes Trojans in electronic equipment such as telecommunication systems, computers, mobile communication systems, cars and even consumer electronics. The evolutionary path of development of hardware Trojans from "cabinets", "crates" and "boxes" to the microcircuits (IC) is also discussed. Readers will benefit from the detailed review of the major known types of hardware Trojans in chips, principles of their design, mechanisms of their functioning, methods of their introduction, means of camouflaging and detecting, as well as methods of protection and counteraction.




Biological Determinism, Free Will and Moral Responsibility


Book Description

This book examines the way in which new discoveries about genetic and neuroscience are influencing our understanding of human behaviour. As scientists unravel more about the ways in which genes and the environment work together to shape the development of our brains, their studies have importance beyond the narrow confines of the laboratory. This emerging knowledge has implications for our notions of morality and criminal responsibility. The extent to which “biological determinism” can be used as an explanation for our behaviour is of interest to philosophers reflecting on the free will versus determinism debate. It also has repercussions for the criminal justice system; in courtrooms around the world, defence lawyers are beginning to appeal to genetic and brain imaging data as grounds for finding their clients not guilty. Can a defendant’s genes or the structure of his brain be used as an excuse for his behaviour? Is criminality “hardwired”? Is it legitimate to claim “I couldn’t help it, my genes made me do it”? This book appeals to anyone interested in the link between behaviour and genetics, the science and philosophy of moral responsibility and/or criminal law.​




Ethics and Neuromarketing


Book Description

This book addresses the emerging field of neuromarketing, which, at its core, aims to better understand the impact of marketing stimuli by observing and interpreting human emotions. It includes contributions from leading researchers and practitioners, venturing beyond the tactics and strategies of neuromarketing to consider the ethical implications of applying powerful tools for data collection. The rationale behind neuromarketing is that human decision-making is not primarily a conscious process. Instead, there is increasing evidence that the willingness to buy products and services is an emotional process where the brain uses short cuts to accelerate the decision-making process. At the intersection of economics, neuroscience, consumer behavior, and cognitive psychology, neuromarketing focuses on which emotions are relevant in human decision-making, and uses this knowledge to make marketing more effective. The knowledge is applied in product design; enhancing promotions and advertising, pricing, professional services, and store design; and improving the consumer experience as a whole. The foundation for all of this activity is data gathering and analysis. Like many new processes and innovations, much of neuromarketing is operating far ahead of current governmental compliance and regulation and thus current practices are raising ethical issues. For example, facial recognition software, used to monitor and detect a wide range of micro-expressions, has been tested at several airports—under the guise of security and counterterrorism. To what extent is it acceptable to screen the entire population using these powerful and intrusive techniques without getting passengers’ consent? Citing numerous examples from the public and private sectors, the editors and contributing authors argue that while the United States has catalyzed technological advancements, European companies and governments are more progressive when it comes to defining ethical parameters and developing policies. This book details many of those efforts, and offers rational, constructive approaches to laying an ethical foundation for neuromarketing efforts.




Psychological Torture


Book Description

Sadly, it is highly likely that psychological torture is committed by governments worldwide and yet, notwithstanding the serious moral questions that this disturbing and elusive concept raises, and research in the area so limited, there is no operational or legal definition. This pioneering new book provides the first scientific definition and instrument to measure what it means to be tortured psychologically, as well as how allegations of psychological torture can be judged. Ground in cross-disciplinary research across psychology, anthropology, ethics, philosophy, law and medicine, the book is a tour de force which analyses the legal framework in which psychological torture can exist, the harrowing effects it can have on those who have experienced it, and the motivations and identities of those who perpetrate it. Integrating the voices both of those who have experienced torture as well as those who have committed it, the book defines what we mean by psychological torture, its aims and effects, as well as the moral and ethical debates in which it operates. Finally, the book builds on the Istanbul Protocol to provide a comprehensive new framework, including practical scales, that enables us to accurately measure psychological torture for the first time. This is an important and much-needed overview and analysis of an issue that many governments have sought to sweep under the carpet. Its accessibility and range of coverage make it essential reading not only for psychologists and psychiatrists interested in this field, but also human rights organizations, lawyers and the wider international community.




Behave


Book Description

Why do we do the things we do? Over a decade in the making, this game-changing book is Robert Sapolsky's genre-shattering attempt to answer that question as fully as perhaps only he could, looking at it from every angle. Sapolsky's storytelling concept is delightful but it also has a powerful intrinsic logic: he starts by looking at the factors that bear on a person's reaction in the precise moment a behavior occurs, and then hops back in time from there, in stages, ultimately ending up at the deep history of our species and its genetic inheritance. And so the first category of explanation is the neurobiological one. What goes on in a person's brain a second before the behavior happens? Then he pulls out to a slightly larger field of vision, a little earlier in time: What sight, sound, or smell triggers the nervous system to produce that behavior? And then, what hormones act hours to days earlier to change how responsive that individual is to the stimuli which trigger the nervous system? By now, he has increased our field of vision so that we are thinking about neurobiology and the sensory world of our environment and endocrinology in trying to explain what happened. Sapolsky keeps going--next to what features of the environment affected that person's brain, and then back to the childhood of the individual, and then to their genetic makeup. Finally, he expands the view to encompass factors larger than that one individual. How culture has shaped that individual's group, what ecological factors helped shape that culture, and on and on, back to evolutionary factors thousands and even millions of years old. The result is one of the most dazzling tours de horizon of the science of human behavior ever attempted, a majestic synthesis that harvests cutting-edge research across a range of disciplines to provide a subtle and nuanced perspective on why we ultimately do the things we do...for good and for ill. Sapolsky builds on this understanding to wrestle with some of our deepest and thorniest questions relating to tribalism and xenophobia, hierarchy and competition, morality and free will, and war and peace. Wise, humane, often very funny, Behave is a towering achievement, powerfully humanizing, and downright heroic in its own right.