Time to take a step back and get off the heated topics for a bit. lol

Been in the news as of late. A new computer chip that scientist say can be implanted into our brains that will increase our intelligence and allow us instant accesses to information.







So lets have at it. Is this a good move? Is it an event of what will come to pass, or not? Your thoughts.

To me, it intrigues me. To think that a small chip planted in my body would give instant access to a whole range of information, not to mention, the ability to talk to others around the world with out the need of phones, just a pure thought. Not to mention giving control over our world. But with all that could come, what of the risk? Could such a device take control over some one? What evil could it be used for?

It sounds cool. Think of the possibility: You see a guy on the street start to choke. In the span it takes to google something, anyone can have the knowledge to preform the Heimlick (sp) manuver, saving that guys life. Or a woman can learn, instantly from a download not unlike us downloading mods for Sims 2, how to disarm a rapist all from a single chip in her wrist.

And think of how it could advance learning. No more boring training seminars for my summer job. I just download everything I need to know about being a lifeguard from a website, and I can be just as good as any life guard.

But as always to these innovations, there is the should we. Should we allow our very actions to be recorded for the entire world, able to be downloaded for a trial of a murder? Does that violate our rights to privacy? Would we for go with trial, because we know he is guilty, and just lock him up? Of course, we would all know what prison is like, and then he would be deemed unwell for acting with the knowledge of his fate. Would this open ourselves up to every crazy and mentally unwell person in the world? What would that do to the human psyche? And since we could understand every action posted on the internet, wouldn't our capabilities become homogenious, making our personalities not to unlike a massed produced software, capable of the same thing?

Do these help, or hurt us? Both, maybe. It's scary. Terminator or Jurrassic Park Scary (both of which follow the theme of science not looking to the consequences).

OK, this creeps me out. My brain would be connected to the internet, which is connected to everyone else's brain. This would make a very very big universal brain. Not liking that.

Also, the article mentioned that some degrees of motion and electricity could be passed. Doesn't that mean that people could control or immobilize other people? Not good.

Understand, I'm not against being able to download infos direct to ones head, but I don't think that the heads should be connected. People should stay individual. Now jsut because I am sharing my thoughts with yall doesnt mean you're in my head, which is good.

WOW! All the good topics are coming out today.

I remember that Steven Mann, one of the guys who likes to be called a 'cyborg' was talking about if he could record all of his actions on a camera, and he walked into an art gallery, is that illegally reproducing the artwork?

Also, I think that if we do get telepathy (which we will), it will start like a phone call or online chat. You would have the choice to be contacted, and could contact others if they approve. But eventually, we will almost always want to be in contact with everyone we know.

Anyway, personally I do think that we should pursue this line. This is where I intend to make my career (I am currently on my last year of my Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience/Nanotechnology (dual fields))

Of course, knowing everyone's thoughts makes lying obsolete, but are we able to handle that? It would make a Utopian society. When we know that the guy selling his snake oil is just out to scam us just by reading his own mental computer, we find that scams and lies and hate and intolorance could be rendered technologically obsolete. Just think about how much we could understand our fellow man. Imagine if, as part of a tolorance lesson, for one day student's must run a personality file that makes the gay? We are not just talking about reading others thoughts though. Every thing that anybody ever was is at the access for our paruseing. It is a fascinating idea. We'd be able to understand anything just one person understands. The more my mind looks at it, the more I wonder: What is the harm of being a race of telepaths?

Of course, I must remind my self that Utopia is Greek for No Place.

Although there would be a few 'brain-hackers' who could get in and read your mind, there could still be privacy.

Taking examples from the computer world, one could install firewalls and other systems to prevent hackers. If these don't work, and you really need privacy, you could probably turn off your telepathic connection (like unplugging your internet connection).

The idea is interesting--after all, the huge benefits you could gain from this kind of technology would be phenomenal.

Unless there are precautions set up, however, I wouldn't be in favor of getting this sort of thing. It's true that there'd be gains made, but at what cost? Sure, everyone would be connected, but for some people, that would be breaching their rights to privacy--and what about the effects this could possibly have on us?

Wow, this is just awesome! I'm loving it!

The only concern I would have is abusing this technology. What if someone can send a virus like in a computer and kill you? Or what about criminals who have no remorse and just abuse this technology and kill people's brains?

Yes, like so many technologies this can be a two-edged sword.

But there will likely be more people who use the technology for good than for evil. With very smart and good 'white-hat' brain-hackers working to perfect systems that prevent unwanted invasions of your brain, I think there will be very few people who have the will to kill people and the skill to do it (unlike many hackers, who don't really want to kill anyone but just poke around in other people's computer for fun or to annoy people).

Call me optimistic.

Well then I guess I will be optimistic, too. It's just such a cool technology and to be honest, I have feared for years that robots will take over the world if we don't put a stop to it. And the sad thing is, robots don't have emotions so they will just kill us with no remorse.

I think AI is something we could never program, or at least to Terminator-esque level where it can launch nuclear war.

Computer assited Telepathy does sound cool. Like I said, there are benifits morally to a society that is completely telepathic, such as eliminating the need for alot of trust issues. Just knowing that everyone will know you commited a crime would be enough to stop you from doing that. People are less likely to take risks if they know they will be caught.

I guess my only opposition to this is that I have no opposition. Its weird, you know, but I'm not a trusting induvidual to begin with. Even elliminating the need to lie seems to have a too good to be true aspect to it.

Well if it will make us all more loving and kind and caring and understanding and open-minded, etc., then I am all for it!

Well, the idea to communicate with others and gain information by merely a thought sounds nice.
But the idea that my brain would be open and vulnerable to anyone who is smart enough to hack its "firewall" is terrifying? Actually I am aghast that none of you seems to see a problem with that? My thoughts are my own, and with the appropriate technology I can already see a society that sees fault at anyone who shields their minds from others. No, thank you!

And the "computers taking over the world" idea I find rather unrealistic. Even with the huge increases of computational power we have seen in the last decades no computer has ever showed any sign of exhibiting even the slightest bit of an autonomous will. Not even to the extend of the simplest insects.
And if a computer has no emotions, why would it want to take over the world or something like that?

Certainly would give Jung's ideas of a collective unconscience a whole new meaning!

I thought "We are the Borg" would be a reference to our, as a nation, desire to spread democracy to the rest of the world--under the belief that it is the preferred system of government--regardless of how the rest of the world feels about the subject. Resistance is futile, you will be assimilated!

Seriously, though, back to the idea of cyberization--there are so many different potential futures promised by cyberization, that it's hard to say which one technology and production will lend itself to. Thankfully, the upper-class--the only class that will be able to afford the initial technology--will act as the safety bumper for the rest of us.

I'd be lying if I didn't think the notion of being able to interface with a network simply through mental patterns wasn't attractive either.

I'm still wary of this...
Just looking at people you can tell sometimes that they're thinking things that you don't want to know about. If I'm on a date I don't want the exact thoughts of my boy going through my head- on the one ahnd that would probably be really disturbing, and on the other where's the fun? I wouldn't want to turn myself off completely from the world in that situation either- might need to bother the waitress.

Also, if everyone was hooked up to each other's thoughts, you would find out things you don't want to know. This is not privacy I'm talkigna bout, although to the other person it is. If someone is thinking vaguely about how much they passionatley love/hate someone, I don't want to know, and I'm sure they don't want me to know. Would that lead to people policing thier own thoughts? Orwell anyone? Also, if that person were thinking about ME, damn straight I don't want to know the exact details of thier infatuation or to what level they dislike me. People don't reveal these things through normal interaction for a reason, so why should they reveal them through a system that they can't control?

One last thing, thats much less important, but still bears mentioning. I'm in the theatre, and you can tell what an audience thinks of you. If they are dead silent and staring ahead, they either love it or are bored witless, you can guess based on posture. However, the lights and everything hide that so you can keep on playing even if it seems that everyone hates it. If the players were linked up to the audience and getting negative signals then what do they do? Keep playing? Leave? What?

Or famous people? If this were widespread then everyone would want to talk to celebrities or pro athletes. So would they jsut have to keep thier system turned off so that they don't ahve to deal with rabid fans? And how would thier system handle that? A pro athlete- with a turned off chip- receivng thousands of messages through the course of a game? If I receive hundreds of emails within seconds of each other my computer protests muchly, so would a chip- in thier nervous system- protest jsut as much? Wouldn't that hurt them, badly?

I think the idea has potential for people who suffer from paralysis, but I wouldn't be so eager to put a chip in my brain just so that people could excersise their lazy side and get in touch with me without getting up to use the phone. And I couldn't use the excuse that I didn't hear the phone either if I don't want to talk to them. Also, the brain is a fragile organ, it doesn't react too well to large amounts of new information, even though the chip is in the brain. Learning is a gradual process that takes time and I doubt a chip could actually substitute that.

I guess when it comes down to it, I have to agree with FurryPanda in that I wouldn't want to lose my privacy.

I agree with FurryPanda and Frankie, in the sense that I want to keep my private thoughts and such private. And judging from this, wouldn't someone be able to take advantage of it and do some major damage?

For those of you who actually keep a journal/diary... no more of that! LOL

I think this is a great idea, however the downside makes me nervous about it. Though I would totally love to be able to "dive" into the net like in gits however I'd be a bit worried about "the laughing man" if I were of the corporate type. Also those who think you could just download something and be able to do it, I think you're completely wrong on that account. Say I download one of the many martial art disciplines, now I will have the knowledge of how to perform the many techniques in said discipline I however will not be able to simply go and do them as 1) my body wouldn't be able to well 2) the brain would still have to process the information 3) it won't be like the matrix

I could see what you mean and I guess that makes sense.

I've taken basic martial arts. I don't claim to have a cool belt color, and I don't remember stances names. I do know the best way to position your body, and the optimal places to hit an unarmed opponent (gut first. Head follows pain, and whamo) and how to disarm someone. I was never flexible enough to do martial arts but those techniques were easy. Being able to instantly download them could save lives. The basics are just taking advantage of the flaws in human designe.

Your brain is not a computer, and even if you download the moves, the brain would still need to process the information, to create the reflexes and generally to balance the body during movement. I doubt that, while you are being attacked you will have enough time even to search for the right information, let alone applying such information.

That seems to depend on how the download works. After all, long-term memory, muscle coordination and reflexes are all formed by strengthening and weakening various neural connections.

If one downloads a memory of how to perform those moves, then truly one would still need to train the body to perform them. It would be akin to having lessons but never actually practising. The practice is needed to form the connections in muscular control regions, such as the cerebellum and motor cortex.

However, it could be feasible to have a more comprehensive download that, instead of forming or simulating neural connections just in the long-term memory, could also work on the cerebellum and motor cortex to stimulate connections there.