The editors of the journal Studies in Ethics, Law, and Technology recently devoted an entire issue to “The Convergence of the Physical, Mental and Virtual.” See 4 Studies in Ethics, Law, and Technology, No. 3 (2010). This special issue addressed an array of new technologies that offer potentially revolutionary advances in treatment for some of the most severely debilitating human physical and mental infirmities. At the same time, these new technologies pose new risks, not least of which are concerns for privacy. Indeed, some of these technologies challenge the very nature of the human self, and may require intensive analysis of fundamental legal and moral implications of their potentially widespread use.
The technologies at issue span a range, from extension of simple tools, already available, to complicated devices that may take decades to develop. At one end, for example, are radio frequency identification devices that permit tracking of an individual’s location, either as a physical attachment (such as a bracelet), or, more permanently, as a subcutaneous implant. Such RFIDs could help monitor and protect at-risk populations (such as patients with dementia, or children).
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