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- Mar 28, 2017
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This seems to be a rather slippery slope. I can see things like corrective surgery but not "enhancements". At what point do they stop? The reading of senses? The reading of minds? The control of minds? All of these things have been suggested by the scientific community at some point.
Interestingly, French science fiction writers also presented their ideas to the armed forces as part of the "équipe rouge" (red team) expert team. The mere participation of writers in such an undertaking is not a new practice - the American armed forces have been collecting literary ideas since the 1950s (e.g. in 2013, the Marine Corps hired Max Brook, the author of the book "World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War", released in 2006 and also transferred to film in 2013).
It is important that the recommendation also set clear boundaries for medical experiments: there must be a legible consent of the soldier, the principle of human dignity and respect for humanitarianism, as well as the prohibition of restriction of free will, eugenic or genetic practices or actions that prevent soldiers from returning to civil life . Moreover, any operations on the human body must be fully reversible. It will also not be allowed to use substances or chemicals that will make the soldier feel no fear, have no sympathy or ethical and moral doubts.
It seems that the legal framework, in particular the provisions of international humanitarian conventions, seems to be the only limitation for the possible implementation of the recommendations of the defense ethics committee. In France, all clinical trials of the human body, their scope and limitations, are strictly regulated by the LOI Act n ° 2012-300, commonly known as Jardé, of March 5, 2012. Work on its design and public consultations took just over three years.
Time will show how it will be with real respect for the legal framework by governments. I think the temptation can be big.
Sorry for my English.