Brain-affecting technologies, personal identity and authenticity

Abstract

One of the recurring debates surrounding«human enhancement» is how newtechnologies affect our personal identity.Certain technologies also raise questionsregarding authenticity. This paperanalyses the impact of brain-affectingtechnologies on personal identity andauthenticity. Using as a reference DeepBrain Stimulation (DBS), a techniquedeveloped in recent years to treat disorderssuch as Parkinson´s disease, andBrain-Machine Interfaces (BMI), I willconsider whether brain-affecting technologiescould threaten or, at least, lead tomorally relevant changes in the identityor authenticity of the treated persons.