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Technology has provided a lot of improvement in the area of mental health. But technology is also affecting the way people define their own identities. For example, people are relying daily on drugs which affects their mental health negatively. Also, electronic devices have an impact on the micro- cellular structure and complex biochemistry of our brains.

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By SUSAN GREENFIELD

Human identity, the idea that defines each and every one of us, could be facing an unprecedented crisis.

It is a crisis that would threaten long-held notions of who we are, what we do and how we behave.

It goes right to the heart - or the head - of us all. This crisis could reshape how we interact with each other, alter what makes us happy, and modify our capacity for reaching our full potential as individuals.

And it's caused by one simple fact: the human brain, that most sensitive of organs, is under threat from the modern world.

Unless we wake up to the damage that the gadget-filled, pharmaceutically-enhanced 21st century is doing to our brains, we could be sleepwalking towards a future in which neuro-chip technology blurs the line between living and non-living machines, and between our bodies and the outside world.

It would be a world where such devices could enhance our muscle power, or our senses, beyond the norm, and where we all take a daily cocktail of drugs to control our moods and performance.

Already, an electronic chip is being developed that could allow a paralysed patient to move a robotic limb just by thinking about it. As for drug manipulated moods, they're already with us - although so far only to a medically prescribed extent.

Increasing numbers of people already take Prozac for depression, Paxil as an antidote for shyness, and give Ritalin to children to improve their concentration. But what if there were still more pills to enhance or "correct" a range of other specific mental functions?

What would such aspirations to be "perfect" or "better" do to our notions of identity, and what would it do to those who could not get their hands on the pills? Would some finally have become more equal than others, as George Orwell always feared?

Of course, there are benefits from technical progress - but there are great dangers as well, and I believe that we are seeing some of those today.

I'm a neuroscientist and my day-to-day research at Oxford University strives for an ever greater understanding - and therefore maybe, one day, a cure - for Alzheimer's disease.

But one vital fact I have learnt is that the brain is not the unchanging organ that we might imagine. It not only goes on developing, changing and, in some tragic cases, eventually deteriorating with age, it is also substantially shaped by what we do to it and by the experience of daily life. When I say "shaped", I'm not talking figuratively or metaphorically; I'm talking literally. At a microcellular level, the infinitely complex network of nerve cells that make up the constituent parts of the brain actually change in response to certain experiences and stimuli.

The brain, in other words, is malleable - not just in early childhood but right up to early adulthood, and, in certain instances, beyond. The surrounding environment has a huge impact both on the way our brains develop and how that brain is transformed into a unique human mind.

Of course, there's nothing new about that: human brains have been changing, adapting and developing in response to outside stimuli for centuries.

What prompted me to write my book is that the pace of change in the outside environment and in the development of new technologies has increased dramatically. This will affect our brains over the next 100 years in ways we might never have imagined.

Our brains are under the influence of an ever- expanding world of new technology: multichannel television, video games, MP3 players, the internet, wireless networks, Bluetooth links - the list goes on and on.

But our modern brains are also having to adapt to other 21st century intrusions, some of which, such as prescribed drugs like Ritalin and Prozac, are supposed to be of benefit, and some of which, such as widelyavailable illegal drugs like cannabis and heroin, are not.

Electronic devices and pharmaceutical drugs all have an impact on the micro- cellular structure and complex biochemistry of our brains. And that, in turn, affects our personality, our behaviour and our characteristics. In short, the modern world could well be altering our human identity.

Three hundred years ago, our notions of human identity were vastly simpler: we were defined by the family we were born into and our position within that family. Social advancement was nigh on impossible and the concept of "individuality" took a back seat.

That only arrived with the Industrial Revolution, which for the first time offered rewards for initiative, ingenuity and ambition. Suddenly, people had their own life stories - ones which could be shaped by their own thoughts and actions. For the first time, individuals had a real sense of self.

But with our brains now under such widespread attack from the modern world, there's a danger that that cherished sense of self could be diminished or even lost.

Anyone who doubts the malleability of the adult brain should consider a startling piece of research conducted at Harvard Medical School. There, a group of adult volunteers, none of whom could previously play the piano, were split into three groups.

The first group were taken into a room with a piano and given intensive piano practise for five days. The second group were taken into an identical room with an identical piano - but had nothing to do with the instrument at all.

And the third group were taken into an identical room with an identical piano and were then told that for the next five days they had to just imagine they were practising piano exercises.

The resultant brain scans were extraordinary. Not surprisingly, the brains of those who simply sat in the same room as the piano hadn't changed at all.

Equally unsurprising was the fact that those who had performed the piano exercises saw marked structural changes in the area of the brain associated with finger movement.

But what was truly astonishing was that the group who had merely imagined doing the piano exercises saw changes in brain structure that were almost as pronounced as those that had actually had lessons. "The power of imagination" is not a metaphor, it seems; it's real, and has a physical basis in your brain.

Alas, no neuroscientist can explain how the sort of changes that the Harvard experimenters reported at the micro-cellular level translate into changes in character, personality or behaviour. But we don't need to know that to realise that changes in brain structure and our higher thoughts and feelings are incontrovertibly linked.

What worries me is that if something as innocuous as imagining a piano lesson can bring about a visible physical change in brain structure, and therefore some presumably minor change in the way the aspiring player performs, what changes might long stints playing violent computer games bring about? That eternal teenage protest of 'it's only a game, Mum' certainly begins to ring alarmingly hollow.

Already, it's pretty clear that the screen-based, two dimensional world that so many teenagers - and a growing number of adults - choose to inhabit is producing changes in behaviour. Attention spans are shorter, personal communication skills are reduced and there's a marked reduction in the ability to think abstractly.

This games-driven generation interpret the world through screen-shaped eyes. It's almost as if something hasn't really happened until it's been posted on Facebook, Bebo or YouTube.

Add that to the huge amount of personal information now stored on the internet - births, marriages, telephone numbers, credit ratings, holiday pictures - and it's sometimes difficult to know where the boundaries of our individuality actually lie. Only one thing is certain: those boundaries are weakening.

And they could weaken further still if, and when, neurochip technology becomes more widely available. These tiny devices will take advantage of the discovery that nerve cells and silicon chips can happily co-exist, allowing an interface between the electronic world and the human body. One of my colleagues recently suggested that someone could be fitted with a cochlear implant (devices that convert sound waves into electronic impulses and enable the deaf to hear) and a skull-mounted micro- chip that converts brain waves into words (a prototype is under research).

Then, if both devices were connected to a wireless network, we really would have arrived at the point which science fiction writers have been getting excited about for years. Mind reading!

He was joking, but for how long the gag remains funny is far from clear.

Today's technology is already producing a marked shift in the way we think and behave, particularly among the young.

I mustn't, however, be too censorious, because what I'm talking about is pleasure. For some, pleasure means wine, women and song; for others, more recently, sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll; and for millions today, endless hours at the computer console.

But whatever your particular variety of pleasure (and energetic sport needs to be added to the list), it's long been accepted that 'pure' pleasure - that is to say, activity during which you truly "let yourself go" - was part of the diverse portfolio of normal human life. Until now, that is.

Now, coinciding with the moment when technology and pharmaceutical companies are finding ever more ways to have a direct influence on the human brain, pleasure is becoming the sole be-all and end-all of many lives, especially among the young.

We could be raising a hedonistic generation who live only in the thrill of the computer-generated moment, and are in distinct danger of detaching themselves from what the rest of us would consider the real world.

This is a trend that worries me profoundly. For as any alcoholic or drug addict will tell you, nobody can be trapped in the moment of pleasure forever. Sooner or later, you have to come down.

I'm certainly not saying all video games are addictive (as yet, there is not enough research to back that up), and I genuinely welcome the new generation of "brain-training" computer games aimed at keeping the little grey cells active for longer.

As my Alzheimer's research has shown me, when it comes to higher brain function, it's clear that there is some truth in the adage "use it or lose it".

However, playing certain games can mimic addiction, and that the heaviest users of these games might soon begin to do a pretty good impersonation of an addict.

Throw in circumstantial evidence that links a sharp rise in diagnoses of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and the associated three-fold increase in Ritalin prescriptions over the past ten years with the boom in computer games and you have an immensely worrying scenario.

But we mustn't be too pessimistic about the future. It may sound frighteningly Orwellian, but there may be some potential advantages to be gained from our growing understanding of the human brain's tremendous plasticity. What if we could create an environment that would allow the brain to develop in a way that was seen to be of universal benefit?

I'm not convinced that scientists will ever find a way of manipulating the brain to make us all much cleverer (it would probably be cheaper and far more effective to manipulate the education system). And nor do I believe that we can somehow be made much happier - not, at least, without somehow anaesthetising ourselves against the sadness and misery that is part and parcel of the human condition.

When someone I love dies, I still want to be able to cry.

But I do, paradoxically, see potential in one particular direction. I think it possible that we might one day be able to harness outside stimuli in such a way that creativity - surely the ultimate expression of individuality - is actually boosted rather than diminished.

I am optimistic and excited by what future research will reveal into the workings of the human brain, and the extraordinary process by which it is translated into a uniquely individual mind.

But I'm also concerned that we seem to be so oblivious to the dangers that are already upon us.

Well, that debate must start now. Identity, the very essence of what it is to be human, is open to change - both good and bad. Our children, and certainly our grandchildren, will not thank us if we put off discussion much longer.

* Adapted from ID: The Quest For Identity In The 21st Century by Susan Greenfield, to be published by Sceptre on May 15 at £16.99. To order a copy for £15.30 (p&p free), call 0845 606 4206.

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Modern technology is changing the way our brains work, says neuroscientist

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By SUSAN GREENFIELD Human identity, the idea that defines each and every one of us, could be facing an unprecedented crisis. It is a crisis that would threaten long-held notions of who we are, what we do and how we behave. It goes right to the heart - or the head - of us all.

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Technology has provided machines that does work faster and more efficiently. But this improvement is threatening to take away a lot of jobs in the future. It has already taken a good amount of jobs, for example, at the beginning of the 20th century in the United States, jobs in factories and agriculture were disappearing at a rapid rate

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The Issues: How Will Technology Impact Us?

Economic | Social | Military

Employment and the Economy:

Perhaps the most fundamental and direct impact that technology has on the everyday life of most people is economic in nature. The issue of jobs and unemployment is one that strikes a chord of concern in just about every person. While competition between machinery and human labor has long existed in the realm of physical tasks, it has only recently been introduced into the domain of mental work. Much as heavy machinery has eliminated the need for physical exertion on the part of humans, so too does modern technology, in the form of microchips and computers, bring with it the potential to eliminate mental drudgery. Does this mean, however, that humans will no longer have any purpose to serve in the world?

To gain some perspective on the issue, we can take a look at the past. At the beginning of the 20th century in the United States, jobs in factories and agriculture were disappearing at a rapid rate. But with the loss of those jobs came the potential for millions of new jobs and economic development in new industries. Indeed the macroeconomic trend of the past century has been overwhelmingly positive. Jobs have grown 10-fold in the United States (from 12 million in 1870 to 116 million in 1985) and the percentage of people employed has grown from 21 percent to 48 percent. Per-capita gross national product, as well as the average earning power of jobs, has increased 600 percent in constant dollars during the same period. Today, new manufacturing technologies are rapidly reducing the number of production jobs. The advent of new technology is projected to rapidly decrease the demand for clerical workers and other such semiskilled and unskilled workers.

How will the development of more advanced software affect our economy? Is technology bound to provide for economic growth? Is it possible for computers and technology to truly replace humanity?

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Society:

Computers, which have revolutionized the workplace, are similarly infiltrating society. They have brought about innumerable advances in education and personal communication.

Slowly but surely, computers have begun to infiltrate the classroom. Though not yet optimized for education, the personal computer has much potential in this arena. Wireless networks can allow for the easy sharing of courseware, submissions by students of papers, exams, courseware responses, and other creations. The networking of information can provide students with instant access to vast amounts of information and knowledge.

The realm of communications has likewise seen immense change. We are provided with new ways to communicate with each other, such as email and instant messaging. Documents placed on the internet are sources of information for the rest of the world. Vast databases allow for the easy storage of information. Global positioning satellites allow us to track our exact location and find our way to various destinations.

But what social problems will arise with such progress? Will we become increasingly dependent on our computers to the point of social breakdown? As Theodore Kaczynski wrote, "technology is a more powerful social force than the aspiration for freedom, ...while technological progress AS A WHOLE continually narrows our sphere of freedom, each new technical advance CONSIDERED BY ITSELF appears to be desirable." Will technology be so ingrained in society as to destroy it and imprison humanity?

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Military:

The potential applications of technology to warfare are well known. But is this application positive or negative?

One might argue that the military application of science is undoubtedly negative in that it has led to the creation of the atomic bomb and other such weapons of mass destruction. Technology has made the complete destruction of humanity possible. That capacity continues to grow, as more nations develop nuclear technology and the proliferation of nuclear warheads continues.

On the other hand, it is also possible to argue that science has made it possible for the more accurate destruction of enemy targets and, in doing so, has lessened unintended damage to civilian populations. Smart bombs and cruise missiles have lessened the human component of war at least to some degree.

But what will the effect of future technology be? Will it lessen the amount of destruction and death? Or will it be our ultimate undoing?

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The Dangers of Technological Development

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The Issues: How Will Technology Impact Us? Economic | Social | Military Employment and the Economy: Perhaps the most fundamental and direct impact that technology has on the everyday life of most people is economic in nature. The issue of jobs and unemployment is one that strikes a chord of concern in just about every person.

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Technical knowledge has helped to combat diseases, improve health, provide more food, offer faster travel and ease hardship. But also, technology has harmed society immensely. Dangers lie in our reliance on computers and communications that are dependent on electrical power. Another danger lie on the harm that technology is having on the planet and our overall health.

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Technological advances have provided immense improvements in our lives, but often with a hidden cost. Even the historic skills of bronze and iron working were driven by a desire not only for ploughs and tools, but for better weapons of war. This is still the case for much of modern science. Technical knowledge has helped to combat diseases, improve health, provide more food, offer faster travel, or ease hardship, and this is progress. We like novelty and innovation, but forget they happen at the limits of our understanding. We rarely see, or cannot predict, potential dangers. Innovation and knowledge are expanding at unprecedented rates, but we individually understand an ever-smaller percentage of the total.

The numbers of our daily exchanges of emails, phone calls, texts, photographs, and blogs was unimaginable just a few years ago. We receive them but ignore, delete, or forget them far faster than we did with hand-written letters and photographs. Technological progress means the life expectancy of stored data is rapidly shortening as our computer systems evolve and old data are incompatible with the modern storage and software technologies. We have photos of grandparents but do not expect electronic pictures to survive for our grandchildren. Stone carvings did not say much, but they exist.

Unexpected dangers lie in our reliance on computers and communications that are dependent on electrical power, optical fibre links, and satellites. Satellites are crucial for communications yet they have a finite life expectancy, and can fragment into thousands of high speed components that will destroy other satellites. This is a runaway situation, and current plans to improve data rates by doubling the number may mean satellite-based technology is doomed within a few decades. Failed satellites already contribute to a myriad of orbiting fragments, so further collisions are inevitable. Chunks as small as a mobile phone, at orbital speeds, can have kinetic energy 500 times greater than a military tank shell. Impacts are spectacular. Satellite technology may self-destruct; only the time scale is uncertain. Political, or terrorist, acts could rapidly remove satellites.

Such dangers are predictable, unlike natural phenomena such as sunspot emissions which strike the Earth. They make beautiful aurora in the night sky, but have destroyed power networks. We are vulnerable as we are totally dependent on electrical power, electronics, and satellites. Major solar emissions that intersect our Earth's orbit are inevitable, and they can cause a total loss of power in advanced societies, including the destruction of satellites. The consequences are so horrendous that few people wish to consider them.

The tangible benefits of technological progress are wonderful, but are matched by irreversible damage to our global resources. To support almost eight billion people, our attempts to provide sufficient food are made with limited regard to the land or other creatures, and we have destroyed cultures and hundreds of languages. Crop yields and health care have advanced with the aid of drugs and chemicals but they are not, and cannot be, confined to their original locations. Food and water supplies are seriously contaminated with a cocktail of chemicals and drugs which no earlier civilization has ever experienced. Despite warnings and research, the potential for allergies, ill health, and mutagenic and fertility changes are ignored by the majority. Humans have always been concerned with the present, self-interest, and profit. This is why we have advanced. The difference now is that we have outgrown our potential resources.

Technologies isolate many people from society, especially the poor or elderly. Our dependence on computers offers an obvious example as the changing systems are expensive or too complex for such people. Instead of benefitting them, they are side-lined. Further, the technologies are invariably designed by, and for, the young, who cannot appreciate how age has reduced sight, sensitivity to pale colours in display contrast, or manual dexterity. Lack of understanding can equally increase vulnerability to computer scams on their data and money. Technology is spawning an exponential growth in cyber-crime. This is globally running at many billions of dollars per year, and steeply rising.

I am highlighting dangers of new technologies that are often unexpected and unforeseen. They are hidden by very positive aspects of new science, but are placing advanced civilizations in danger of a sudden and total collapse. My comments are not anti-technology, but are intended to raise awareness of our vulnerability to the dangers that exist. It is absolutely essential that we recognise this and actively make contingency planning to minimise undesirable consequences. There is urgency, otherwise advanced civilizations will crash within decades. Over exploitation of resources can be addressed if we have the political will. It needs governments with intelligence to recognise that there are natural disasters, such as the sunspot emissions, that are inevitable. These can strike at any time, and we must have contingency measures in place.
Featured Image credit: Satellite by PIRO4D. CC0 Public Domain via Pixabay.

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Technological advances have provided immense improvements in our lives, but often with a hidden cost. Even the historic skills of bronze and iron working were driven by a desire not only for ploughs and tools, but for better weapons of war. This is still the case for much of modern science.