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Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Merging your brain with a computer


Image result for neuralink




Imagine being able to connect your brain to your computer, and download anything you want.  Well, with Neuralink, that might soon be possible.  The company Neuralink is a brand new company, founded in 2016 by billionaire Elon Musk.  The company is currently working on the Neural Lace, which according to Christina Mercer, is a mesh-like substance that will be inserted into your skull.  Once it is in your skull, the mesh will wrap itself around your brain.  After that, all you do is go on your computer, and download whatever knowledge you would like to know, (Mercer).  The invention is in the beginning stages, and as far as we know, a long way away from completion.  But, the invention has the potential to change our way of life.  It would be a huge step in human development, as we will have the power to gain almost any sort of knowledge within seconds.  With the recent development of highly intellectual robots, with knowledge vastly superior to ours, the Neural Lace will allow us to keep pace with the artificial intelligence(AI), by using artificial intelligence.  Also, while this is even further away, this invention has the potential to treat, and prevent neurodegenerative diseases, like Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease.

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Extreme close up of the Neural Lace mesh
Elon was motivated to create this invention because of the advancement of robots and artificial intelligence. Musk is concerned with how advanced, and smart artificial intelligence is becoming.  Musk himself said " we will need a “digital layer” to prevent humans from becoming future house cats compared to AI," (Chandler).  While the house cat reference was a partial joke, the point being made is no joke.  We will continue to advance AI, without giving ourselves those same advancements.  This could affect people on a global scale.  Musk is worried that AI could surpass the point of human control, (No, not like The Matrix), and our knowledge would not be able to compete, which theoretically, could result in the end of humanity.  However, the Neural Lace would greatly improve the power of the human brain, making people as smart as, if not smarter than robots, which would prove beneficial to the entire world.  But, this invention is a some ways away, as well as the advancement of AI, so we have some time to process this idea. 

This invention is full of positive benefits on society.  Like previously stated, people with the Neural Lace will have their brainpower significantly improved.  That means that people will have improved memory, processing power, and a greater ability to learn.  You would have the potential to learn a new skill at the press of a button on your computer, and it would download through the Neural Lace and into your brain in seconds.  Another huge benefit, also mentioned before, is the ability to fight neurodegenerative diseases, like Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease.  While this was not Elon's intent when he invested in the idea, it was another positive affect that would come with the Neural lace.  One of Elon's partners, Bryan Johnson, who has conducted extensive research on this topic, said “We know if we put a chip in the brain and release electrical signals, that we can ameliorate symptoms of Parkinson's,” (Statt).  They think that if they release electrical signals through the Neural Lace, then it will also eradicate symptoms of Parkinson's disease, in the same way.  This carries another global impact because in the future, we could potentially rid the world of Parkinson's disease, improving the lives of millions of people, and their families.  

With the positive impacts, comes the negative impacts.  Eliza Strickland talks about how the Neural Lace mesh being in your brain could clog red blood cells, which could possibly block off proper oxygen flow, and lead to diseases, and even brain damage, (Strickland).  However, this theory has yet to be proven, but it is a serious issue that needs to be addressed, so the Neural Lace can actually be safe to use.  The other major issue with the Neural Lace, according to Candice Chandler, is the many ethical implications, and complications that it brings, (Chandler).  First off, there is the potential for someone to hack the Neural Lace, since it is controlled by a computer.  From there, someone could literally download a virus into your brain, and theoretically would give the hacker full control to your brain.  It would be near impossible to fight the virus, and could possibly ruin your entire life.  Furthermore, the Neural Link would gather all of it's information from the internet.  That brings many privacy issues into play, as you would have almost no privacy, since your thoughts will forever be connected to the internet.  Also, this would give the government more control over your life, enhancing their ability to monitor you, and now your thoughts.  That is another huge privacy issue, that is borderline unethical.  Finally, since information is being retrieved from the internet, there is the possibility that the Neural Lace could transfer misinformation, or "fake news" into your brain, not knowing that it is wrong.  You would then be living your life in a constant lie, without even knowing it.  While these are only theoretical, since the Neural Lace is still in development, these are huge negatives with huge impacts on it's users.  Musk's goal is to improve humanity, but these side effects could have the potential to strip us of our humanity.  It will soon be up to you wether or not you are willing to take these risks to get the tremendous intellectual benefits the Neural Lace has to offer. 

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Gutenberg's Printing press
The Neural Lace could have the same effect that the printing press had during the renaissance time.  The Neural Lace is a tool that would be used to improve your brain, to be able to gain knowledge and advance humanity.  The printing press had a similar effect.  Johan Gutenberg's printing press created an efficient way for books to be produced.  There was no internet during the renaissance, so people used books to spread information for others to learn.  The printing press gave easy access to those books for everyone, even the poor, to gain knowledge and move forward as a society. This invention helped the humanist movement by sharing that knowledge.  Well, the Neural Lace will be an invention that shares knowledge from the internet to people with the Neural Lace, which allows them to gain loads of knowledge, and be modern day humanists.  Both inventions helped, or will help the progression of knowledge for humanity.  



Works Cited
Chandler, Candice. “The Missing Neuralink: Elon Musk Aims to Fuse Man with Machine.” Cybrink, 12 Apr. 2017, cybrink.com/elon-musk-neuralink/.

Mercer, Christina. “Everything You Need to Know About Neural Lace.” Techworld, 14 Sept. 2017, www.techworld.com/data/what-is-neural-lace-3657074/.

Statt, Nick. “Elon Musk Launches Neuralink, a Venture to Merge the Human Brain with AI.” The Verge, The Verge, 27 Mar. 2017, www.theverge.com/2017/3/27/15077864/elon-musk-neuralink-brain-computer-interface-ai-cyborgs

Strickland, Eliza. “5 Neuroscience Experts Weigh in on Elon Musk's Mysterious ‘Neural Lace’ Company.” IEEE Spectrum: Technology, Engineering, and Science News, 12 Apr. 2017, spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/devices/5-neuroscience-experts-weigh-in-on-elon-musks-mysterious-neural-lace-company.

Shutt, Brandon. “This Week in Tech History: The Gutenberg Bible and Printing Press.” VR World, 17 Aug. 2014, vrworld.com/2014/08/17/week-history-gutenbergs-bible/.

3 comments:

  1. When discussing the positive and negative impacts of the neural lace you discussed the chance of a potential hack of the computer system. With this intricate technology controlling your brain would there be any chance for effects on personality or even potential loss of control? Is there already precautions being put into place for this?

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  2. As of right now, the neural lace is in the very beginning stages of productions, and and may not even be ready for testing for a few years, but I would assume that there will be precautions made to prevent these affects. However, according to theconversation.com, there has been a neurotechnology called the Transcranial Magnetic stimulation (TMS) created by MIT, that was proven to be able to alter someone's mental judgement for a short period for time, by using low level electrical currents. So, the neural lace could theoretically have that same potential.

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    Replies
    1. Maynard, Andrew. “Considering Ethics Now before Radically New Brain Technologies Get Away from Us.” The Conversation, Arizona State University, 5 Dec. 2017, theconversation.com/considering-ethics-now-before-radically-new-brain-technologies-get-away-from-us-65215.

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