Cyborg ethics and regulation: ethical issues of human enhancement

Abstract

Abstract Contemporary technological developments undermine the core pillars defining the human self, under the emergence of cyborgs and super-empowered individuals. The pre-determined boundaries between humans and machines may turn obsolete with the consolidation of the new hybrid humanity. This may foster an innovative approach to the traditional understanding of human ethics and the establishment of cyborg norms and regulations. In this article, the primordial nexus between cyborg ethics and the eugenics movement is further analyzed, hence as enhancing catalysators of mankind. Moreover, the article raises an ethical decision-making diagram, in which the normative cyborgs debate is framed in terms of positive and negative eugenic regimes. This analysis aims at providing a clearer understanding of cyborg-related ethical decision-making and the ways it magnifies eugenic features. As technological components become an inherent part of the human body, the international community should adhere to reshaping the notion of cyborg ethics and its ethical and regulatory implications.