Mind Wars: Jonathan Moreno, Neuroscience and the Military

National security should start by granting civilians their rights like education, health care and freedom to speak and think without the paranoid surveillance (like Carnivore[1] and Echelon[2] surveillance systems) that government inflicts on their own and other citizens. This policy should be the standard policy for US but also for any other government in the world.

Sadly, it seems like it's not enough to define ethical guidance on mind investigations. Nowadays, even with the Geneva Conventions[3] and Human Rights[4] we still have those shameful Abu Dhabi[5] and Guantanamo Bay[6] cases. It seems that governments are unable to get those practical law applications which are opposed to other corporate economic interest.

Contractor business seems to be the new governments panacea for responsibility outsourcing. The government may outsource some services, but is still responsible for its consequences.

When he says referring to mind technology that "There are many few countries with the capacity we have" I personally feel this asseveration like a déjàvu. Did we heard that before ? Of course ! Do you remember how Enola Gay and the atomic bomb helped the whole humanity ? The fact that someone is the only one who has some special power doesn't mean that he is going to use it wisely.

The most affordable way to give proteins to South Africans is by feeding them with food. With 1/12th of the military budget we would be able to feed the world right NOW ... so why should I believe that war-oriented scientific discoveries will be used for anything else than domination ?

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnivore_(software)
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_Conventions
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights
[5] http://www.ted.com/talks/philip_zimbardo_on_the_psychology_of_evil.html
[6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guantanamo_Bay_detention_camp