*4.2. Human Enhancement*

In all these cases, the trial could also be described as useful for purely therapeutic reasons, e.g., the ultrasonic sensory input might be of use to an individual who is blind to give them an alternative (bat-like) interaction with the outside world, while telegraphic communication might be beneficial to people with certain forms of motor neuron disease. Each trial can, however, be seen as a potential form of enhancement beyond the human norm for an individual. There was no need to have the implant for medical reasons in order to overcome a problem; the experimentation was carried out for the purposes of scientific exploration.

Human enhancement with the aid of brain-computer interfaces introduces all sorts of new technological and intellectual opportunities, but it also throws up different ethical concerns [29,30]. While the vast majority of present day humans are perfectly happy for interfaces, such as the BrainGate, to be used in therapy, the picture is not so clear when it comes to enhancement.

From the trials, it is apparent that extra sensory input is one practical possibility that has been successfully trialed along with extending the human nervous system over the internet. However, improving memory and communication by thought are other distinct potential, ye<sup>t</sup> realistic, benefits with the latter of these also having been investigated to an extent. To be clear these things appear to be possible (from a technical viewpoint at least) for humans in general.
