The target article by Van Gyseghem et al. (2026) surveys discussions of consciousness in papers involving human brain organoids (HBOs). They rightly point out that there are many divergent concepts...
AJOB NeuroscienceApril 3, 2026Mario Picozzi, Renzo Pegoraro, Alberto Carrara
The systematic mapping by Van Gyseghem and colleagues (2026) provides a welcome and careful reconstruction of how consciousness is discussed within the ethical and philosophical literature on human...
Human brain organoids (HBOs) are three-dimensional structures derived from human pluripotent stem cells that model aspects of fetal brain development. As HBO models grow more complex, ethical concerns arise, particularly around the potential for consciousness. Defining and detecting consciousness in HBOs remains unresolved, with existing theories offering conflicting predictions. This...
In "Prescription for Love: An Experimental Investigation of Laypeople's Relative Moral Disapproval of Love Drugs," Lantian, Boudesseul, and Cova (2024) explore the moral implications of hypothetical romantic love-enhancing biotechnological interventions. Their study reveals "love drugs" (LDs) are viewed as less acceptable than psychological therapy due to the perceived inauthenticity of the...
The psychedelic psilocybin has shown promise both as treatment for psychiatric conditions and as a means of improving well-being in healthy individuals. In some jurisdictions (e.g., Oregon, USA), psilocybin use for both purposes is or will soon be allowed and yet, public attitudes toward this shift are understudied. We asked a nationally representative sample of 795 US Americans to evaluate the...
In his paper “Non-human moral status: problems with phenomenal consciousness,” Joshua Shepherd emphasized an objectivist understanding of welfare to establish the moral status of non-human entities...
In their paper, Hildt (2023) surveys several socio-ethical and regulatory issues arising from research into, and the potential emergence of, artificial consciousness—synthetic beings with a claim t...
AJOB NeuroscienceApril 3, 2023Jacob Freund, Guy Halevi, Hila Tavdi et al.1 citation
Professors Hildt (2023), Shepherd (2023), and Zilio and Lavazza (2023) jointly considered the ethical and philosophical implications of acknowledging non-human (e.g., machine) consciousness. Althou...
In their target article, Peterson et al. discuss the intriguing prospect of using psychedelics as a treatment for patients with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (AD/ADRD) (Peterson et al. 2023). They provide a helpful analysis of ethical issues that may arise in research or clinical use. However, while they mention the use of psychedelics in indigenous spiritual practices, Peterson et...
Carhart-Harris, R., B. Giribaldi, R. Watts, M. Baker-Jones, A. Murphy-Beiner, R. Murphy, J. Martell, A. Blemings, D. Erritzoe, D. J. Nutt, et al. 2021. Trial of psilocybin versus escitalopram for depression. New England Journal of Medicine 384 (15):1402–11. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa 2032994. Coulson, A. 2023. Lecanemab approved for use by US FDA. NeuroCentral, 19 Jan. https://www.neuro-central.com/...
10.1080/21507740.2022.2048726. Stoekl e, H. C., A. Ivasilevitch, G. Marignac, and C. Herv e. 2021. Creation and use of organoids in biomedical research and healthcare: The bioethical and metabioethical issues. Cell Adhesion & Migration 15 (1):285–94. doi: 10.1080/19336918.2021.1996749. Stoekl e, H. C., L. Ladrat, T. Landrin, P. Beuzeboc, and C. Herv e. 2022. Bio-ethical issues in oncology...
It is widely agreed that possession of consciousness contributes to an entity’s moral status. Therefore, if we could identify consciousness in a machine, this would be a compelling argument for considering it to possess at least a degree of moral status. However, as Elisabeth Hildt explains, our third person perspective on artificial intelligence means that determining if a machine is conscious...
Aday, J. S., C. C. Davoli, and E. K. Bloesch. 2019. 2018: A watershed year for psychedelic science. Drug Science, Policy and Law 5. doi:10.1177/2050324519872284. Chapman, M., J. Philip, and P. Komesaroff. 2019. Towards an ecology of dementia: A manifesto. Journal of Bioethical Inquiry 16 (2):209–16. doi:10.1007/s11673-01909910-8. Cunningham, C., S. Macfarlane, and H. Brodaty. 2019. Language...
Peterson et al. (2023) write that there’s “a rich philosophical debate on the nature of authenticity in dementia” involving the relationship of identity and autonomy. I explore this with Jaworska’s theory of autonomy and self. First, I introduce Jaworska’s conceptions. Then, I apply Jaworska’s theory to psychedelic research involving people with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias...
Palermos’s (2023) concept of “mental data” is appreciated as advancing fresh considerations in urgent discourse on mental privacy. However, it is suggested that the proposal for an ontologically distinct category of mental data as currently drafted is nongenerative of novel privacy measures. I agree that mind-related data pose nascent risks—but not because they constitute part of the mind. This...
informed consent to psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Johnson, M. W. 2021. Consciousness, religion, and gurus: Pitfalls of psychedelic medicine. ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science 4 (2):578–81. doi:10.1021/acsptsci. 0c00198. Herzberg, G., K. Conour, J. Butler, A. Emerson, L. S. Gillooly, V. Gold, M. Hayes, L. Mix, and E. Sienknecht. 2019. Towards an ethos of equity and inclusion in the...
In “Journeying to Ixtlan,” Peterson and colleagues (2023) evaluate some of the potential ethical implications of treating Alzheimer’s disease (AD) with psychedelic medicines. In this commentary, I suggest a need to critically engage with such bioethical appraisals of promissory biotechnologies because, whether deliberately or inadvertently, they often have a biopolitical function and perform...
Beauchamp, T. L., and J. F. Childress. 2019. Principles of biomedical ethics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Boyle, J. 2004. Medical ethics and double effect: the case of terminal sedation. Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics 25 (1):51–60. doi:10.1023/b:meta.0000025096.25317.22. Creutzfeldt, C. J., B. M. Kluger, and R. G. Holloway. 2019. Neuropalliative care: A guide to improving the lives of...
Kalichman, E. Thompson, L. Goldstein, C. Koch, and A. R. Muotri. 2022. Brain organoids, consciousness, ethics and moral status. Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology. doi:10.1016/j.semcdb.2022.03.020. Lagercrantz, H. 2014. The emergence of consciousness: Science and ethics. Seminars in Fetal & Neonatal Medicine 19 (5):300–5. doi:10.1016/j.siny.2014.08.003. Monasterio Astobiza, A., and A....
In a recent article, Joshua Shepherd identifies six problems with attributing moral status to nonhumans on the basis of consciousness (Shepherd 2023). In this commentary, I want to draw out yet ano...
Shepherd (2023) is concerned about the moral status of nonhumans and argues that consciousness-based approaches to moral status are inadequate to guide policy decisions. Consciousness-based approac...
People crossing the border into the United States or Canada may find their electronic devices subject to search. Border agents can require travelers to unlock their devices, and then browse through...
The recent article “The Prospects of Artificial Consciousness: Ethical Dimensions and Concerns” by Elisabeth Hildt (2023) in the AJOB Neuroscience presents a thorough examination of the ethical imp...