This is either a great day, or a terrible day. Time will tell.
Neuralink will implant a computer interface in human brains using a surgical robot. The interface will “allow people to control external devices with their thoughts.”
This appears to be a wonderful thing for the disabled, and the technology behind the implant and the surgical robot are incredible.
One just has to wonder how this tech will slowly migrate out of medical applications, and start to be recreational. In a generation we could see a store with apps downloadable to your brain:
Play piano like Vladimir Horowitz
Hit a golf ball like Tiger Woods
Paint like Michelangelo
Speak every known language
What a loss for humanity if we all become robots, instantly capable of anything.
We live in a time of emergence of wondrous technologies that can both help and harm us. But hasn’t it always been this way? Didn’t Henry Ford’s invention of the assembly line threaten the end of craftsmanship, and the beginning of mindless, repetitive work?
As A.I. takes on more and more tasks, and as humans and machines grow ever closer, a growing need for professional ethicists within companies is inevitable. Philosophy could become the new finance. Whether or not these positions will be created and filled is a different matter.
@Vespa81 “Philosophy could become the new finance.”
Nice quote. I hope for a world where machines do all the work, and we humans occupy ourselves with poetry, art, and literature.
But I read somewhere, somebody said the opposite. It was something like: What if we end up doing all the work, and machines create the poetry, art, and literature.
Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) raise a variety of Orwellian concerns that will have to be addressed as this technology is adopted. No doubt that it is coming. I just wonder if people will really want it.
One of the most significant concerns surrounding BCIs like Neuralink is the potential invasion of privacy. Imagine getting spam sent directly to your brain. These devices also could have the ability to access, record, or manipulate a person’s thoughts, memories, and cognitive processes.
Questions arise about consent, autonomy, and the potential for coercion, particularly if employers or governments encourage or require their use. BCIs could also raise questions about what it means to be human and the blurring of the line between humans and machines.
There’s a risk that relying on BCIs for cognitive enhancements could lead to a decline in natural cognitive abilities. Over-reliance on technology may result in reduced critical thinking skills, creativity, and problem-solving abilities.
As BCIs become more integrated into daily life, individuals may become increasingly dependent on them. This dependence could make people vulnerable in the event of system failures, malfunctions, or power outages.
But I think it will be a long time before many people would seriously want a computer implanted in their brain. Even Google Glass freaked people out.
Placing the horse in front of the carriage, I concur that while neural implants like Neuralink have medical potential, the true future seems to lie in merging organics with silicon, as exemplified in the video (Cyborg chips 2020). Consumer adoption may be a challenge, with only piercing enthusiasts and those in medical need readily resorting to self-mutilation for such implants.
How about computer interfaces in our brains being used by businesses to harvest data? When we are online, of course, our preferences and interests are recorded to build a marketing profile. The same thing could be done with our thoughts.
Imagine you use a brain computer interface to download a meditation app – no meditation skills required. But you don’t read the terms of usage and you agree to let them record your thoughts while using the app. You reveal that you are craving pizza, and voila… they just beam a millisecond image of steaming Domino’s pizza into your thoughts. You agreed to it, after all.
The following article and video explores ideas like this. It’s not as far-fetched as one might think.