Neurotechnology Brain Enhancement

The Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies alterted me to an interesting new online magazine put out by the Rathenau Institute. The Rathenau institute is an independent organization from the Netherlands that deals basically with future science/technology and its impact on society. You can download the magazine for free here (pdf file removed). It talks about some issues dealing with the brain and neurotechnology. Here's a short quote from it.

In the Human Enhancement Dossier, Flux lists the harbingers of a glorious new world full of high-performance bodies and brains. In ‘The lure of human enhancement’, the authors argue that as a result of developments in nano, bio, info and cognitive technology, human enhancement is no longer science fiction. The British author Nikolas Rose contends that new biomedical technology is not only bringing about a change in our relationship with our own bodies, but also a change on the political scene.

They have also put out a book Reshaping the Human Condition’—Exploring Human Enhancement(pdf). It appears to explore some of the same technologies that I discuss on this blog. The paper puts on emphasis on cognitive enhancement.

Various technologies to improve our bodies and our life emerging from the fields of pharmacology, the neurosciences, biotechnology and man-machine interactions are being developed in laboratories. But they are also reaching different domains of application already. Contemporary societies adopt and transform technological innovations at an enormous speed. Today’s scientific developments may reach the market and the consumer by tomorrow. As a consequence, human enhancement is rapidly becoming a societal issue. Existential questions and their scientific exploration are now reaching the public.

I've always been a big fan of future science and science fiction, so this type of stuff is right up my alley. There is also the H+ online magazine (PDF) that came out a little while ago that covers similar topics.