Here's something horrifying. We've been drugging our drone operators to keep
them productive, but electric shocking them may be more efficient and safer!
Miriam
Drone Operators' Brains May Be Zapped With Electricity to "Improve
Performance"
Published on
Tuesday, November 08, 2016
by
Common Dreams
Drone Operators' Brains May Be Zapped With Electricity to "Improve
Performance"
U.S. Air Force finds electric pulses to the brain an effective technique for
keeping soldiers on task
by
Nika Knight, staff writer
European researchers who studied the brain-zapping technique years ago
warned that the technology's effects tend to "spread from the target brain
area to neighboring areas." (Photo: U.S. Air Force)
In a report reminiscent of science fiction, U.S. Air Force scientists said
this week that sending electric pulses to soldier's brains is an effective
technique to improve attention span and cognitive ability.
The as-yet unregulated technology may be used on drone operators, whose role
in the United States' secret assassination program leaves them with some of
the military's highest rates of burn-out. In 2015, so many operators quit
that the U.S. Air Force was forced to curtail its number of drone flights.
While the U.S. military has been using pharmaceutical stimulants such as
modafinil (Provigil) and methylphenidate (Ritalin) to enhance drone
operators' performance, "the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S.
Department of Justice (DOJ) have found that Ritalin [is] as addictive as
cocaine, and [that] modafinil can permanently damage sleep patterns, as [it]
is also very addictive," reports the International Business Times.
The military hopes that electronically zapping soldiers' brains will be a
safer alternative.
"But while electrical brain stimulation appears to have no harmful side
effects, some experts say its long-term safety is unknown, and raise
concerns about staff being forced to use the equipment if it is approved for
military operations," the Guardian writes. "Others are worried about the
broader implications of the science on the general workforce because of the
advance of an unregulated technology."
And European researchers who studied the brain-zapping technique years ago
warned that the technology is in fact extremely invasive, as its effects
tend to "spread from the target brain area to neighboring areas."
In their 2013 paper, those scientists argued: "Any technique which directly
affects brain tissue to generate such powerful acute and long-lasting
effects should be treated with the same respect as any surgical technique,
and proper safety and ethical guidelines should apply in institutions where
brain stimulation is in use."
"I have more serious worries about the extent to which participants can give
informed consent, and whether they can opt out once it is approved for use,"
Neil Levy, deputy director of the Oxford Centre for Neuroethics, told the
Guardian. "Even for those jobs where attention is absolutely critical, you
want to be very careful about making it compulsory, or there being a strong
social pressure to use it, before we are really sure about its long-term
safety."
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
License
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Drone Operators' Brains May Be Zapped With Electricity to "Improve
Performance"
Published on
Tuesday, November 08, 2016
by
Common Dreams
Drone Operators' Brains May Be Zapped With Electricity to "Improve
Performance"
U.S. Air Force finds electric pulses to the brain an effective technique for
keeping soldiers on task
by
Nika Knight, staff writer
. 15 Comments
.
. European researchers who studied the brain-zapping technique years
ago warned that the technology's effects tend to "spread from the target
brain area to neighboring areas." (Photo: U.S. Air Force)
. In a report reminiscent of science fiction, U.S. Air Force
scientists said this week that sending electric pulses to soldier's brains
is an effective technique to improve attention span and cognitive ability.
. The as-yet unregulated technology may be used on drone operators,
whose role in the United States' secret assassination program leaves them
with some of the military's highest rates of burn-out. In 2015, so many
operators quit that the U.S. Air Force was forced to curtail its number of
drone flights.
. While the U.S. military has been using pharmaceutical stimulants
such as modafinil (Provigil) and methylphenidate (Ritalin) to enhance drone
operators' performance, "the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S.
Department of Justice (DOJ) have found that Ritalin [is] as addictive as
cocaine, and [that] modafinil can permanently damage sleep patterns, as [it]
is also very addictive," reports the International Business Times.
. The military hopes that electronically zapping soldiers' brains will
be a safer alternative.
"But while electrical brain stimulation appears to have no harmful side
effects, some experts say its long-term safety is unknown, and raise
concerns about staff being forced to use the equipment if it is approved for
military operations," the Guardian writes. "Others are worried about the
broader implications of the science on the general workforce because of the
advance of an unregulated technology."
And European researchers who studied the brain-zapping technique years ago
warned that the technology is in fact extremely invasive, as its effects
tend to "spread from the target brain area to neighboring areas."
In their 2013 paper, those scientists argued: "Any technique which directly
affects brain tissue to generate such powerful acute and long-lasting
effects should be treated with the same respect as any surgical technique,
and proper safety and ethical guidelines should apply in institutions where
brain stimulation is in use."
"I have more serious worries about the extent to which participants can give
informed consent, and whether they can opt out once it is approved for use,"
Neil Levy, deputy director of the Oxford Centre for Neuroethics, told the
Guardian. "Even for those jobs where attention is absolutely critical, you
want to be very careful about making it compulsory, or there being a strong
social pressure to use it, before we are really sure about its long-term
safety."
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
License
