Microelectronics and medical imaging are bringing us closer to a world where mind reading is possible and blindness vanished. But we may not want to live there.
Case I: Nancy, an airline pilot, arrived promptly for a routine physically. She was asked to lie down and place her head in a large metallic torus. While a video screen flashed a series of images before her eyes of a 747 cockpit, a view of target seen through a rifle scope, a photo of Bill Clinton. In an adjacent room, a technician watched colourful images of Nancy's brain appear on his computer screen. As the test ended, the technician forwarded the results to Nancy's employer. On next day, Nancy was confronted by her supervisors. They informed her that, she might develop "schizophrenia" and had a surprising familiarity with assault rifles as well. The agency revoked her pilot's license. The airline promptly fired her.
Case II: Some songs are going on computer screen, young person in front of ot feels relaxed. Suddenly, computer shows dead body of young woman, blooded in room. This young guy gets shocked, but due to fear that someone observe him, he tries to balance himself. Now, camera moves into the room, shows knife with blood. This person tries to make himself relaxed, but another computer behind him understands what he wants. Forensic officer comes, removes belts on his head, police concludes that the suspect is criminal.
This is a technique nowadays emerging as a boon to read the brain for handling criminal investigations and screening potential employees. Now everyone wonders how the technique " Brain Fingerprinting" works. Answer is here.
The system that performs brain finger printing resembles an electroencephalogram (EEG) under computer control. In a test, the subject is sealed infront of computer screen, wearing a headband with EEG sensors. A series of words, sounds, or images is presented. Some of these are called "irrelevants" (unrelated to crime), which forms a baseline of activity for unimportant information.
Others are target stimulate phases or images that the subject has been told to pay particular attention to target act as a baseline for information noteworthy to the subject. Finally, there are "probes" details of crime under investigation that an innocent would have no knowledge of, such as a picture of a sofa on which a murder victims body was found. Microvolt electrical signals that correspond to brain activity known as event related potential (ERPs) can be measured on the scalp. Distinctive ERPs occur when murder might respond to the probe targets and irrelevants using a computer algorithm, researcher draw a final conclusion.
Brain fingerprinting may seem similar to a Polygraph (lie detector) , but it differs in important ways. A polygraph measures physiologic responses that are indirectly related to brain function. Bran finger printing's information comes directly from brain. Brain imaging for criminal investigations or in employment screening of individuals, has certain problems. The most important drawback is of "reliability". How reliable is it? We need to know, because if we come to rely in it, a false positive result could destroy a career, a false negative could leave society at risk.
The consequences of new technologies derived from new science, as with all new technologies help the world to become heaven but these technologies will certainly bring negative consequences that we can't clearly foresee. Even if we can never fully anticipate the impact of employing these technologies, it is important to try.