Philosopher Nick Bostrom argues that the pharmaceutical industry should be encouraged to develop cognition-enhancing drugs without having to tie them to a specific disease indication.
“With the cockcrow of enhancement medicine, we need to retool our regulatory paradigm. It is not only special occupations such as military commandos and air-traffic controllers that would benefit from good enhancement drugs. Other jobs are just as important and intellectually taxing — including the jobs of many scientists and academics. Anything that can help our brains deal better with the complex challenges of the twenty-first century is to be not only welcomed but actively sought. But it will require substantial investment to develop interventions that are both safe and effective in long-term use.” (Nature)
Bostrom, by the way, sounds like he works at an interesting venue, the “Future of Humanity Institute of the James Martin 21st Century School” at Oxford.
