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Alexander556 t1_j9w96c7 wrote

If we had a device which could reliably (and painlessly) read peoples minds, without their consent, and could be used to pull specific informations from some ones brain, should we restrict it's use*?
Should we use this device at all?

-Would it be unethical to search the brain of a criminal to find information on a crime?
-Should such information be used in court, or would it be considered as having to witness against oneself?
-Would it be unethical to search the mind of a convicted murderer, to find the locations where s/he hid some of the victims, to give the families closure?
-Would it be a war crime to extract vital knowledge from a POW?

*For example, only to be used by psychiatrists etc. to help consenting patients, research purposes etc.

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Fuyoc t1_ja05e3b wrote

Would they know it's happening? Sounds quite traumatic. The permissibility would come down to what they had done to deserve it, or the consequentialist likely outcome of not doing it vs choosing to read their mind for some justified reason. I intuitively find the idea an extremely significant violation of someone's personhood.

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Alexander556 t1_ja9iscw wrote

Something like that was called "mind rape" in another context.

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Maximus_En_Minimus t1_ja4y8sp wrote

If I was to take a consequentialist point of view, but also use common sense, such a devise would likely lead to a capitalistic fascism of the likes of an Ultra-China. Who needs cameras? - just put a mind-reader 2000 on every block and monitor your populations every thought.

It is ironic, on the above post I take a pure-empathy devise would positively transform the world - which I agree with. However, as soon as you remove both consent and reduce the thought / experience to just information, not shared sensation of understanding, it quickly devolves for malicious usage.

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Alexander556 t1_ja9jvjk wrote

I personally think that, if something like this would exist, we should only use it to prevent harm. If someone has planted a bomb somewhere, i have no problems with violating his privacy and reading his mind.

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