Are brain chips the path to human evolution or a step toward control?

When I first read that Elon Musk wanted to implant computer chips in human brains, I thought he was crazy. Even if the medical risks could be overcome, even if there were benefits, would people agree to give up free will and their ability to think for themselves? Would they entrust their emotions and career to a chip? Certainly not.My opinion changed after reading a WSJ article: ‘Are you ready for a brain chip? It’ll Change Your Mind’, by Daniel Gelernter, head of the hedge fund RG Niederhoffer Capital, and an expert in computational neuroscience. He asks: If a brain chip (BC) gives you an advantage over others, won’t you rush to maximize that advantage? If not, you risk falling behind your rivals and becoming obsolete, no matter how smart or hardworking you are.

Remember, the internet or smartphones sounded like science fiction a few decades ago. Today they are so common that semi-literate villagers have them. Life without them has become unthinkable. Anyone without them will lose to those who do.

Will the same happen with BCs? Can they become as indispensable and common as the smartphone today?

Musk presents BCs as a medical tool for patients who have not responded to traditional remedies. His company Neuralink completed its first human implant earlier this year and says the patient has responded well.

BCs have already shown that people can control technology with their thoughts. Paralyzed patients have been able to control a robotic arm or move a cursor. One patient controlled a video game by thought. BCs can be used to treat depression, schizophrenia, dementia and other ailments of the mind. These are major problems in richer countries that have overcome the diseases of the poor. Even if clinical trials are successful, no country will approve BCs for years to come, given the serious consequences. But it will happen. BCs have clear medical potential. But will it stop there? Once the genie is out of the bottle, it cannot be put back. Amniocentesis and ultrasound were invented to detect possible defects in fetuses. But once they were licensed, they were used to track and abort female babies. It is difficult to limit the use of any technology. If breaking rules provides users with a major benefit, regulation has no chance of success.

That is the biggest risk of BCs. They cannot and should not be seen as purely medical devices. They are mind control devices. And that is scary.

Private capital is ready to pour billions into this sector, just as they previously did into internet and smartphone companies. BCs could be the next big thing.

Gelernter writes: ‘It is a matter of years, not decades. These will not be chip implants that allow people with spinal cord injuries to regain their independence. These will be implants marketed to everyone, much like smartphones are now. And if you refuse to have a chip transplanted into your brain, you’re a retarded, outrageous misanthrope.

‘The benefits of brain chips will far exceed what external devices offer today. We will be able to take ‘pictures’ of everything we see with our eyes, just by thinking. Ditto video – in 3D. We will be able to send messages to friends by thinking them, and hear their answers playing in our minds. We will be able to talk to anyone in any language. We will be able to remember an infinite amount of information, recall any fact… To participate in films. To be completely entertained in new virtual worlds.’

Governments will try to use BCs to control citizens, and that is the most frightening outcome of all. Gelernter says our memories will be organized for us by AI under policies drawn up by experts who put society’s interests first. “If we have criminal ideas, or perhaps just counter-cultural views, these will be referred to the appropriate authorities before it is too late.”

This sounds like Orwell’s 1984. Most of us would feel helpless and deprived if we suddenly lost access to the internet or cell phones. In the future, the lack of access to a BC could be just as devastating. All ambitious individuals will want it. Even countries that ban BCs on the grounds of moral or social hazards may relent if rivals licensing BCs gain a large advantage.

Sooner than you think, an unholy rush toward BCs could begin. That means those who produce the hardware and software will have an unprecedented way to control the minds and actions of billions of people. In some fundamental way, perhaps we are no longer human.

Is this doomsdayism? Throughout history, new scientific developments have produced horrific views of abuse that have proven to be unfounded. Still, I can’t let go of the feeling: ‘This time it’s different.’