Cyborg Meltdown Alert Device?

by Dora Raymaker · 2009-04-11 13:02:00 UTC
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a shadowy image of a man's face, the right side of which is partially covered by a weird eye piece with wires going down from itAutism invention: Chicago youths devise technology in effort to help people cope from the Chicago Tribune (IL) describes a science fair project by three 10-year-olds. The idea was to create a device that could predict when an autistic person was about to have a meltdown based on biofeedback (brain activity, blood pressure) analysis, and initiate some sort of calming routine like playing a favorite song from an audio device on a wristband. This device would be a microchip implanted in the brain.

As weird and scifi as this is (alien implants whee!), I've often wished that there was a button that would flash or something to warn others that I've reached an intolerable level of stress so people could remove me from the bad situation; the more stressed I am the less able I become to communicate about it, and a vicious cycle is created. The "soothing audio" idea not so much (what about autistic people who aren't soothed by audio or who are deaf?) but as a means of communication, now that I could get into.

As someone who already could be called a "cyborg" from wearing glasses to relying computer devices for most of my "executive function" and communication capabilities, the idea of an implant to take over communication when I falter sounds slightly more appealing than disturbing...I think... or does it?

As with any new technology, particularly technology applied to living things (and especially brains!), ethical considerations need to be addressed prior to implementation. Just because we can do something, doesn't always mean we should. Many ethical questions in science and medicine remain currently unanswered.

Dora Raymaker
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