In a new article at The Dana Foundation, Stanford professor Henry T. Greely looks at the social and legal ramifications of cognitive-enhancing drugs. I’m particularly intrigued by his argument that “cheating” is not a valid concern:
Many people find the assertion that enhancement is cheating to be convincing. Sometimes it is: If rules or laws ban an enhancement, then using it is cheating. But that does not help in situations where there are no rules or the rules are still being determined. The problem with viewing enhancements as cheating is that enhancements, broadly defined, are ubiquitous. If taking a cognitive-enhancement drug before a college entrance exam is cheating, what about taking a prep course? Using a computer program for test preparation? Reading a book about taking the test? Drinking a cup of coffee the morning of the test? Getting a good night’s sleep before the test? To say that direct brain enhancement is inherently cheating is to require a standard of what the “right” competition is. What would be the generally accepted standard in our complex and only somewhat meritocratic society?
The idea of enhancement as cheating is also related to the idea that enhancement replaces effort. Yet the plausible cognitive enhancements would not eliminate the need to study; they would just make studying more effective. In any event, we do not reward effort, we reward success. People with naturally good memories have advantages over others in organic chemistry exams, but they did not work for that good memory.
Couldn’t we make this same argument about drugs that enhance physical performance? I certainly understand restricting steroid use because of the well-known potential harmful side-effects, but what about creatine, HMB, etc.? Where do we draw the line? Or what about non-pharmaceutical cognitive enhancement technologies, e.g., binaural beats?
What do you think? On the one hand, would you take cognitive enhancers if you knew they could substantially improve your academic or business performance? On the other hand, how would you feel if you found out someone you were going up against for a job or a promotion was using cognitive enhancers?