Saturday Hashtag: #ImplantInvasion
Human Implants: Who Owns the Controlling Shares of You When the Next Merger Happens?
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The fusion of tech and the human body — through brain implants, genetic hacking, and supercharged prosthetics — has moved from sci-fi dreams to real-world tech, sparking debates on what it means to be human. Companies like Neuralink are leading the way with innovations like the N1 implant brain-computer interface (BCI), which allows users to control devices with just their thoughts.
In 2024, Noland Arbaugh, paralyzed for years, played chess using his mind, demonstrating how BCIs could revolutionize health care and independence for people with disabilities.
But with these advances come not just serious ethical questions but real tangible threats. If a device performs an action for you, who gets the credit ? You or the machine?
Philosophers like David Chalmers explore this with the “extended mind” theory, suggesting that tech could become an extension of our brain, making it difficult to determine where we end and the machine begins. And if the implant makes a mistake, who’s to blame — the user or the technology?
The potential for BCIs to “read” our thoughts adds another layer of concern: What happens when our inner thoughts are no longer private? Imagine a world where your brainwaves can be accessed by governments or employers, making “thought crimes” a real possibility, à la Orwell’s 1984.
Meanwhile, on the legislative side, 13 US states have already enacted preemptive bans on mandatory human microchip implants. This move signals the elevated alarm level, coming despite no substantial evidence that employers or other agencies are actually requiring such implants — yet.
As Mississippi state Sen. Kevin Blackwell (R) puts it, rapid technological advances require lawmakers to stay ahead of potential misuse. While microchips are already being used in places like Sweden for routine tasks (think: unlocking doors or sharing social media), the US seems keen to protect employees from the possibility of being compelled to adopt these implants.
However, tech moguls and governments remain committed to the potential benefits of BCIs and implants. Neuralink’s long-term vision includes treating neurological disorders, restoring movement for the paralyzed, and even merging human consciousness with AI.
But even the often erratic Mr. Musk acknowledges the risks, including brainjacking and the loss of embodied autonomy. Indeed, microchip implants — whether for health or convenience — raise profound questions about privacy, security, and even personal identity.
More troubling still is the possibility that such advancements, which currently offer voluntary benefits, could one day become mandates for employment or citizenship, further complicating the ethical landscape.
Ultimately, these cutting-edge technologies — like brain chips and CRISPR — are transforming the human experience. Let’s not get into Dr. Charles Morgan’s thoughts on the military use for DREADDs tech which can remotely trigger behavior; it’s just as scary and unregulated.
While they promise a future of enhanced capabilities, they also bring a minefield of ethical dilemmas. As the boundary between humans and machines becomes increasingly blurred by innovation augmentation, it is imperative to ask: are we advancing human potential—or sacrificing the very essence of what it means to be human? And who’s ultimately in control?
It’s clear that the race for regulatory legislation is as important, if not more so than the race for scientific advancement.
Why Elon Musk’s Neuralink Brain Implant Reframes Our Ideas of Self-Identity
The author writes, “Brain-computer interface (BCI) technologies like Neuralink symbolize a new era in the intertwining of the human brain and machines, asking us to reconsider our intuitions about identity, the self and personal responsibility.”
Elon Musk Wants to Merge Humans With AI. How Many Brains Will Be Damaged Along the Way?
From Vox: “Of all Elon Musk’s exploits — the Tesla cars, the SpaceX rockets, the Twitter takeover, the plans to colonize Mars — his secretive brain chip company Neuralink may be the most dangerous. What is Neuralink for? In the short term, it’s for helping people with paralysis — people like Noland Arbaugh, a 29-year-old who demonstrated in a livestream [last year] that he can now move a computer cursor using just the power of his mind after becoming the first patient to receive a Neuralink implant. But that’s not the whole answer.”
The Original Sin of Transhumanism: The Desire to Be Like God
From Crisis Magazine: “Transhumanism is a phenomenon that cannot be reduced to a science or an ideology or a philosophy or a secular religion. It is the spirit that pervades our time and that spirit is anti-Christian.”
In 2024 Elon Musk Predicted That ‘Hundreds of Millions’ of People Will Have His Brain Chips Within the Next 20 Years, So Don’t Forget to Hold Him to It
The author writes, “2024 was the year when Neuralink, Elon Musk’s brain chip company, finally moved from theory into reality, announcing its first successful medical implants in patients. This on its own is a remarkable achievement and not one to be taken lightly though, with Musk in his cheerleading role, the promises of what comes next may make a few of us non-augmented folk roll their eyes.”
Everyday Philosophy: Are We Entering the Age of the Cyborg?
From The New European: “[Last year], Elon Musk announced on Twitter/X that Neuralink had made a breakthrough. The company’s researchers have successfully implanted a microchip into a human brain. The device designed to record neural activity will allow a person to operate a computer using just their thoughts — they hope.”
Ethical Assessment of Implantable Brain Chips
The authors write: “Computer scientists predict that within the next twenty years neural interfaces will be designed that will not only increase the dynamic range of senses, but will also enhance memory and enable ‘cyberthink’ — invisible communication with others. This technology will facilitate consistent and constant access to information when and where it is needed. The ethical evaluation in this paper focuses on issues of safety and informed consent, issues of manufacturing and scientific responsibility, anxieties about the psychological impacts of enhancing human nature, worries about possible usage in children, and most troubling, issues of privacy and autonomy.”
7 Healthcare Trends That Will Transform Medicine in 2025
From Forbes: “Healthcare has evolved dramatically in recent years, with technology driving countless new opportunities, just as demographic and societal factors have created new challenges. This trajectory will continue into 2025, as advancements in AI, remote medicine, and biotechnology continue to reshape healthcare planning and delivery. From a big-picture perspective, we’ll continue to see a shift towards predictive measures as systems adapt to cope with aging demographics, population booms in the developing world and financial challenges caused by economic uncertainty.”
