Embodied Neural Systems Can Enable Iterative Investigations of Morally Relevant States
- Brett J. Kagan1,2,
- Alon Loeffler1,
- J. Lomax Boyd3, and
- Julian Savulescu4,5,6
- 1Cortical Labs, Melbourne, 3000 Victoria, Australia
- 2Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3010 Victoria, Australia
- 3Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
- 4Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, 3052 Victoria, Australia
- 5Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, 3053 Victoria, Australia
- 6Centre for Biomedical Ethics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119210, Singapore
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Author contributions: B.J.K., A.L., J.L.B., and J.S. wrote the paper.
The development of new technologies is best accompanied by—ideally, preceded by—serious ethical reflection. Difficulties in achieving this goal can arise because only after integrating interdisciplinary expertise is it possible to fully capture the breadth of issues regarding how any new technology may intersect with society (Savulescu, 2015). The development of intelligent information processing systems that integrate neural tissue with synthetic computing systems, termed Synthetic Biological Intelligence (SBI), is a technology that would benefit from integration of both scientific and ethical expertise. The uncertainties of developing systems that may possess potentially morally relevant states (e.g., phenomenological consciousness—commonly defined as the unique subjective quality associated with an experience) prompts discussion about how to identify when such states arise and, if identified, what considerations are due. Here we propose that understanding the moral status of complicated dynamic phenomena that make up neural systems (whether animal or human) is best done by building up simple tests to identify clear metrics of interest across systems that possess multiple levels of complexity.
Research into how neural systems produce intelligent phenomena is progressing rapidly. Findings that in vitro neural systems may be able to engage in logical and complex behaviors have further spurred development [reviewed in Kagan et al. (2023)]. An example of such intelligent phenomena was demonstrated using in vitro cortical cells that displayed basic learning within a real-time, closed-loop system, within a short time (Kagan et al., 2022). Many researchers are already seeking to further expand the complexities of these SBI systems, for example, exploring three-dimensional brain organoids (Hartung et al., 2023). As this new technology progresses rapidly, it is crucial for ethical standards to keep pace.
Such ethical considerations will require an iterative process of development and testing of neural systems, not only …
Correspondence should be addressed to Brett J. Kagan at brett{at}corticallabs.com.
