[Apart from questioning existence]
1] When Sci-Fi meets Reality!
I have been reading John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War Sci-Fi series – one where humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce– and alien races willing to fight us for them are common. So: we fight. To defend Earth, and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate. Far from Earth, the war has been going on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding. And towards this we bring the ‘conscious’ of the old into newer, genetically created bodies that communicate through brain pals which are neural Augmentation technology used by The Colonial Defense Force for their soldiers in the means to communicate….
Never a better time to read about Brain Machine Interfacing.
If a person from the neolithic age were to pay us a visit now, he would in all probability die trying the assimilate the new order of the world and technological prowess. But over a 100 thousand years, our brains have remained the same. Take a minute to digest that.
We have the same brain as the neanderthal.
The world has totally changed.
Here is a TEDx video that talks about it [ By Steve Hoffman – the founder of Founder Space]. Notes from the session below. I feel a tad uncomfortable with this one and I will explain why in a bit.
It talks a bit like preaching to puritans. The technology is immensely amazing and has repercussions beyond what our brain can handle right now (pun intended).
The key I think though is on how we decide to go ahead with integrating this in our lives – ethically, morally and legally. Those decisions are yet to be made.
By us.
And the manner in which the common man is exposed to this information will have a huge say in how this might be welcomed or otherwise.
We do not like to play god. We do not like those who like to play god. This video does just that – drowns us with multiple disconcerting facts at us even before we can come to terms with what could potentially change lives as we know of it. It leaves our already on-the edge brains with a conclusion the reads like a death knell. The technology in itself is inevitable albeit there are other sources one could start with for example.
The importance of setting the right context has never been more important.
Nevertheless, the short video does state what is currently happening on the topic of Brain Machine Interfaces (BMI) or Brain Computer Interfaces (BCI). It certainly needs a follow-up though from journals and scientists who are not necessarily angel investors.
We have now started to change our brains. We are doing this with new technology. Some basic technology like EEG allows us to measure brain waves. It can tell our concentration levels. They can also be used to move a cursor on the screen. They are working on them in controls in games. They are used in Medicine – as in PTSD and ADHD. They have applications for children to study. But where are we headed eventually?
2] Brain Chips and moving Robotic arms
These devices are capable of recording dreams – in a very primitive way. Right now, scientists in labs around the world are developing ‘brain chips’.
They are chips that can be inserted into the brains and are wireless.
A paralyzed monkey, was inserted with a chip in the brain and lower spine that allowed it to communicate and allowed the primate to walk again. Now there are monkeys in labs with chips in the brain and just by thinking, the monkeys can drive the wheel chair around. Just by thinking, a monkey could move an external robotic arm to get food.
3] Who are the humans who will benefit from it first
When we think about where the technology is headed – this is where we are going. People who get brain chips first are the ones with debilitating brain conditions where the chips could restore the quality of life.
4] Mind to Mind Communication
Scientists have done experiments with rats. They could teach a rat to do specific things to get food. It took the rat weeks to learn that behavior. Then they hooked the chip in the rats brain to the internet where the knowledge (or the ability to get food) was transferred from the brain of another rat in another city to the first one who immediately found the right pathways. If we stop to think of it is ‘transfer of knowledge’ across the brains of two individuals across continents wirelessly through the brain chips. There is immense potential to this in humans – mind to mind‘ communication is the realm of sci-fi which is now turning into a reality. If we look at a world where we look at chips connected to the internet it will imply that we can actually google for information from within the brain.
4] Transferring memories living outside of our bodies
Imagine being able to transfer the feeling of what ‘skydiving’ feels like to a friend. Imagine we can experience the lives of others and their memories. We may not know the difference between our own memory and those acquired from others. Information will be ‘commoditized’ and on-demand. All of us will have infinite access to information. We will be connected to everything. Not only will we be able to get knowledge but have full experiences within our heads.
In the future we can download an environment and actually live in it. The difference between us dreaming and reality will be blurred. We will be spending a lot of time outside of our bodies. When we are connected to the internet we are no longer trapped to our bodies.
5] Recreating experiences and living others’ lives
Imagine being able to actually recreate the entire experience and physical sensations of being on Mars, for example. Imagine being in Elon Musk’s head right now (if he allowed you to do that). We can transfer emotions.
Humans will thus never be alone.
6] Beyond the 5 senses
Suddenly if we are connected to a world of machines and sensors. We will not just have 5 senses but multiple senses like IR and UV that we have never experienced before. Our live today will be totally alien to us. We will be living in a whole new reality. We can have many lives since we live through the lives of others. Nirvana or a state of non-being talks about how our consciousness is not tied to our bodies. This technology comes very close to getting us there. We will be redefining what the human experience is the first time in history.
Technology is really powerful. We have seen how, say with cell-phones, our lives have changed tremendously. In the future, when the internet becomes us, we need to understand as the society and the human race, that this comes with a lot of responsibility. Imagine someone being able to hack your brain and implant memories. This technology that can so radically transform our lives potentially can also get us to a really bad place.
We are going to be making decisions around this in our life times.
Elon Musk’s Neuralink Plans to Put Chips in Human Brains by 2020
And we better make good choices.