IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - March 2017 - 9

($22.5 million), in collaboration with
the Minneapolis-based biomedical
device company Medtronic [8].

investment in advancing new tech-
nologies for soldiers suffering from
depression or post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD) in the military, there
needs to be commensurate fund-
ing invested to address unforeseen
challenges. In fact, it is still unclear
whether U.S. service members must
accept participation in experimental
brain research if asked, or if they
can decline in place of other non-
intrusive medical help.

More Information
Visual proceedings of the 9th
Workshop on the Social Implications of National Security, includ-
ing powerpoint presentations, are
available [9]. The workshop was
held during the 2016 IEEE Norbert
Wiener Conference, at the Univer-
sity of Melbourne, Australia. Several
DARPA-funded neurologists from the
Vascular Bionics Laboratory at the
University of Melbourne were invited
to present at the workshop, includ-
ing a team led by Thomas Oxley,
M.D. [10]. (Oxley did not personally
appear as he was in the U.S. on a
training course related to intensive
neurosurgical training.)
The military implantable tech-
nologies field at large is fraught
with bioethical implications. Many
of these issues were raised at the
Workshop, and remain unanswered.
If there is going to be a significant

References
[1] K. Michael, "Mental Health, Implantables,
and Side Effects", IEEE Technology and
Society Magazine, 34(2), pp. 5-17, http://
ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7128830/.
[2] B. Unruh, "U.S. Militar y Developing
Spychips for Soldiers," WND, http://www
.wnd.com/2012/05/u-s-military-developing-
spychips-for-soldiers/, 05/05/12.
[3] S. Anthony, "US military begins work on
brain implants that can restore lost memo-
ries, experiences," ExtremeTech, pp. http://
www.extremetech.com/extreme/176337-
us-milit ar y -begins-work-on-brain-
implants-that-can-restore-lost-memories-
experiences, 10/02/14.
[4] DARPA. "Restoring Active Memor y
(RAM)", DARPA-BAA-14-08, https://www
.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=fo

rm&id=925a0e2faf1c2e3c3782e1788fc
c660d&tab=core&_cview=0, 07/11/13.
[5] T. M. Cronk, "DARPA Developing Implants
to Help with TBI Memory Loss," US Depart-
ment of Defense, http://www.defense
.gov/News-Article-View/ Article/602880,
15/07/14.
[6] T. M. Cronk, "DARPA Developing
Implants to Help with TBI Memory Loss,"
US Department of Defense, http://www
.defense.gov/News-Ar ticle-View/
Article/602880, 15/07/14.
[7] John Hamilton, "Military Plans To Test
Brain Implants To Fight Mental Disorders,"
Npr.org http://www.npr.org/sections/health-
shots/2014/05/27/316129491/military-
plans-to-test-brain-implants-to-fight-mental-
disorders, 27/05/14.
[8] Tanya Lewis, "US Military Developing
Brain Implants to Restore Memor y",
LiveScience, http://www.livescience
.c o m/46710-mi l i t ar y - memo r y -brain -
implants.html, 09/07/14.
[9] K. Michael, M.G. Michael, J.C. Galliot, R.
Nicholls, "The Socio-Ethical Implications
of Implantable Technologies in the Mili-
tary Sector", The Ninth Workshop on the
Social Implications of National Security
(SINS16), http://www.katinamichael.com/
sins16, 12/07/16.
[10] Outreach. Minimally Invasive "Stentrode"
Shows Potential as Neural Interface for
Brain: Implantable device repurposes stent
technology to enable direct recording from
neurons, Darpa.mil, http://www.darpa.mil/
news-events/2016-02-08, 02/08/16.

President's Message (continued from page 5)
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Author Information
Paul M Cunningham, 2017 - 2018
IEEE-SSIT President, is President &
CEO with IIMC (Ireland), Founder and
Coordinator of IST-Africa (www.IST-
Africa.org), and Visiting Senior Fellow,
Wrexham Glyndw
ˆ r University, U.K.
Email: pcunningham@ieee.org.

9

http://www.defense http://www http://www.defense.gov/News http://www.Npr.org http://www.npr.org/sections/health http://www.livescience http://http:// http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7128830/ http://www http://www.wnd.com/2012/05/u-s-military-developing http://www.katinamichael.com/ http://http:// http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/176337 http://www.Darpa.mil http://www.darpa.mil/ https://www http://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=fo http://https:// http://www.ieeefoundation.org/ieee_ssit http://www.IST http://www.Africa.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - March 2017