Human enhancements refers to the use of biomedical interventions to improve the cognitive, physical, psychomotor and sensory abilities of persons beyond what might be regarded as normal. The types of interventions in question vary significantly: enhancement could be achieved by pharmacological, surgical, electromagnetic or genetic means, or some combination thereof (for example, an implant releasing a drug).
For the purposes of legal review, the first issue that arises relates to scope. The question is whether human enhancement could amount to a weapons, means or method of warfare to begin with, such that it would become subject to the legal review process. It is unlikely that an enhanced warfighter themself could constitute a weapon for legal purposes. But it is possible that an device worn on, or implanted into, the body of a warfighter would form a part of a weapon system, and thus a means of warfare. Also, the use of human enhancement techniques may constitute an aspect of a method of warfare. Accordingly, some human enhancement techniques may require legal review.
Further questions relate to the testing methodology used to inform the legal review. Ordinarily, the reviewer can assume that a weapon performs similarly when used by different warfighters — in other words, that the human element that can introduce variation into performance of the weapon remains stable. So, for example, to assess the lawfulness of a particular bullet, a series of test shots might be fired to establish accuracy, but it would not be necessary to have multiple warfighters fire those shots. However, a weapon systems controlled, for example, via a brain-computer interface (BCI) could challenge that assumption. The accuracy of a BCI-controlled weapon might be highly dependent on the individual warfighter. Therefore, as with clinical trials of medical devices, a sample of warfighters may need to be tested.
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