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Study after study shows that Elon Musk’s new tech can alter your mind in bizarre and troubling ways.
Elon Musk would like to implant a computer chip into your brain. Maybe not in your mind, but in the brains of humans.
Since its inception in 2016, Musk's startup Neuralink has been trying to implant its skull-embedded brainchip in a human. Musk, a neurotech startup founded in 2016, announced that it would begin human trials within six months after years of testing on animals.
Neuralink spent more than a half a century trying to figure out how to convert brain signals into digital outputs. Imagine being able move a cursor and send a message or enter a word processor with just one thought. Musk is aiming to make Neuralink's chips more mainstream. He said that he wants to put a "Fitbit" in your skull.
Musk's company is not the only one working on brain-computer interfacing systems, which allow for direct communication between brains and computers. BCIs have also been explored by other researchers to control prosthetic limbs and restore lost senses. Although these technologies are still very new, researchers have been able to gain a better understanding of how neural implants interacts with our brains for a while. Anna Wexler is an assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy. She stated that "Of course it creates changes." It is important to ask what kind of changes it causes and how significant are those changes.
Interfering with the delicate brain function of a person is a tricky business. The effects can be undesirable or not intended. BCIs can cause people to feel dependent on the devices or alter their self-perception. It is important to understand the risks and ethical pitfalls of BCIs before people rush to get their smartphone implanted into their brains.
From science-fiction to a billion dollar industry
The 1974 film "The Terminal Man" features a man who receives an invasive brain implant for his seizures. The operation appears to be a success at first, but he becomes psychotic after prolonged exposure to the implant. A scientist warns the audience of the danger early in the movie, comparing the implant to the lobotomies in the 1940s and 1950s. He says, "They created an unknown amount of human vegetables." "These operations were performed by doctors who were too eager for action."
Although humans have not yet been able to build flying cars, send astronauts to Mars or create convincing replicants of themselves, BCIs could be the most important technology to catch up with and sometimes surpass early sci-fi visions. BCIs are used by more than 200,000 people worldwide, mostly for medical purposes. Cochlear implants are perhaps the most well-known, allowing deaf people to hear and, in a sense. A second important use case is epileptic-seizure preventive: Existing devices monitor brain-signal activity to detect seizures and alert the person so they can avoid certain activities, or take preventative medication. Researchers have developed systems that could not only detect seizures but also prevent them with electrical stimulation. This is almost identical to the mechanism described in "The Terminal Man." Human trials of implants for Parkinson's, OCD, OCD and epilepsy have been ongoing for many years.
The devices are now less invasive and more easily scaleable thanks to recent advances in artificial intelligence and neural probing materials. This has attracted both private and military funding. Paradromics and Blackrock Neurotech are just some of the venture-backed rivals working on paralyzed patients' devices. Science, a startup, presented a concept for a bioelectric interfacing to treat blindness last November. Magnus Medical was approved by the Food and Drug Administration last September for a brain stimulation therapy for major depression disorder.
Neuralink has, however, been plagued by a history replete with exaggerated promises. For example, it failed to deliver on time and was reportedly the trigger for a federal investigation into allegations of animal-welfare abuses. Grand View Research, a market-intelligence company, estimated that the global market for brain-implants was worth $4.9 billion by 2021. Other firms have predicted that it could double by 2030.
BCIs are currently restricted to medical use, although a wide range of other uses have been suggested for the technology. In 2018, research showed that participants used BCIs to interact with many apps on their Android tablets, including messaging and typing. Participants also searched the internet by simply imagining the movements of relevant characters. Other possibilities include manipulating virtual reality and playing video games. You can also receive data inputs such as text messages or videos directly without the need to use a monitor. Although these may seem like science fiction, the truth is that the technological and cultural barriers for this type of tech are outpacing the ethical ones. Even though "The Terminal Man" is a fictional story, its tragic ending raises serious questions about the unintentional consequences of BCIs.
A changed heart
Although there have not been any confirmed cases of "Terminal Man-style" violent rampages triggered by BCIs (but compelling evidence indicates that they can cause cognitive changes outside of the intended scope of their intended uses), there is no proof to support this.
Some of these changes were positive. After all, BCIs were designedto alter certain aspects about their users. Professor of philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania, Wexler, conducted interviews with Parkinson's patients who had undergone deep-brain stimulation. This is a surgical procedure that involves placing thin metal wires into the brain that sends electrical pulses to the brain. It helps to reduce motor symptoms. However, many of these people lost their sense of self prior to receiving treatment. She said that many felt the disease had taken away their identity in some way. It can really impact your identity and your self-worth if you are unable to do the things you believe you can do. BCIs were used to help the patients feel like they were regaining their self-worth by treating the underlying disease.
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Researchers at the University of Washington, Sara Goering and Eran Klein, also noticed positive changes in personality, self-perception, and behavior among those who use BCIs. They reported in a 2016 paper about attitudes and ethical considerations around DBS that many participants felt the treatment helped them regain their "authentic" self after being affected by depression or obsessive compulsive disorder. One patient stated that she was beginning to question "who am I?" and "what's the depression?" Cynthia Kubu, a neuropsychologist, described a higher sense of control and autonomy in patients she had interviewed during a presentation on similar research in the latter part of 2022.
Not all of the changes researchers have discovered are beneficial. Frederic Gilbert, a philosopher at the University of Tasmania who specializes in applied neuroethics and philosophy, noticed some strange effects from people who have had BCIs. Gilbert explained to me that the notions of identity, personality, agency, authenticity and self are all very compact and obscure dimensions. Although no one really knows what they mean, there are cases in which it is clear that BCIs have caused changes in personality or sexuality.
Gilbert noticed that patients reported feeling like they didn't recognize themselves in many of his interview studies. This is commonly called "estrangement" in research. He said that patients know they are themselves but that it isn't the same as before the implantation. Some people feel they have new capabilities that are not related to their implants. For example, a woman in her 50s fell on the pool table and hurt her back. Negative situations, also known as deteriorative estrangement (for example), can be very frustrating. Some estrangement may be beneficial if it leads to a healthy sense for self-esteem. Gilbert stated that there have been suicide attempts in extreme cases.
BCIs can be used to treat a serious medical condition. It makes sense that they would also have a positive psychological impact. There are more concerns about the downsides of brain chips being used for common purposes.
Your smartphone is your brain
We are closer to Musk's vision of a "Fitbit in every skull" as technology improves. There are reasons to be cautious. It's easy to become addicted to your phone. But imagine how addictive it would be if it was wired directly to your brain.
Gilbert shared with me the story of a patient he interviewed. He felt like they could not go out on their own or decide what food to order without consulting the device that revealed what was happening in their brains. Gilbert stated that while there is nothing wrong in having a device that completes a decision, at the end the device was kinda supplanting the person and kicking them out the loop.
Sometimes patients can become so dependent on their devices that they cannot function without them. Gilbert has seen many participants in studies who fell into depression after losing support for their devices. This can often be due to funding cuts or expiration. An anonymous participant in a study who had received a device to detect epileptic activity, said that she was able to "grow slowly into it" and became accustomed to it. It became me."
BCIs can be difficult to financially support and maintain. They may also require brain surgery to remove them and reinstall them. BCIs are still in their trial phase. There are no universal standards or financial support. Many devices could lose funding suddenly. Supply-chain problems, hardware updates, bankruptcy, and other issues could disrupt early adopters' sense of self.
Privacy concerns arise when a computer has access to your brain waves. Gilbert stated that if you have a device that helps you move your prosthetic arm for example, it will pick up noises that you might not want in your brain. There is a lot background noise and it can be deciphered. This noise is converted and stored somewhere on the cloud. One could learn a lot from studying your brain waves. If a hacker had access to your data, they could also read your mind by looking for specific expressions in brain-signal activity.
BCIs are still mostly restricted to the medical sector, so early adopters are willing to make these kind of trade-offs. Wexler stated that if someone is disabled and cannot communicate, they are "generally quite happy if there is a technology that allows them to do so." It's not clear, however, that it would be worth the risk of non-medical BCIs causing a lot more problems than the convenience of a Fitbit.
Although we are still far from the futuristic cyborgian world of interconnected electronic minds that Elon Musk has predicted, the industry's rapid growth makes it more urgent to consider ethical issues. Science fiction was once the only way to go. Companies shouldn't rush to implant brain chips in people's heads if they can alter key aspects of their personality. Wexler said that although most people in the industry don't want to use BCIs for consumer products, they believe it will happen. She said that if it happens, the whole risk-benefit tradeoff will change.
Evan Malmgren, a writer covering power and infrastructure, is currently writing a book on American off-gridders.
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By: insider@insider.com (Evan Malmgren)
Title: The mind-bending dangers of Elon Musk’s brain-chip revolution
Sourced From: www.businessinsider.com/brain-chips-elon-musk-neuralink-change-personality-behavior-computer-tech-2023-2
Published Date: Wed, 15 Feb 2023 10:02:00 +0000
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