DECRYPTION – French researchers are committed to avoiding possible abuses of the use of digital technology on the brain.
Make a paralytic walk again, fight degenerative diseases, but also write an article directly by thought, without using a keyboard. These gratifying, and sometimes worrying, prospects are all promises of neurotechnology, a booming field.
Using headphones, electrodes and even implants, researchers are trying to probe the brain, understand it and remedy any malfunctions. “For us, the challenge is twofold: to ensure that this area, which brings hope, keeps all its promises, and secondly, to do so under responsible conditions”declares Hervé Chneiweiss, neurobiologist and neurologist, president of the ethics committee of Inserm, at the origin of a charter of responsible development of neurotechnologies which should be presented on November 17 next by the Ministry of Research.
Read alsoElon Musk’s Neuralink: Why this technological evolution is not a therapeutic revolution
The development of neuroscience is like a balancing act swinging to one side towards desirable progress for the greatest number…