And it’s not just Apple that’s attempting to blur
the lines. Elon Musk, CEO of the Tesla brand,
recently announced NeuraLink, a “breakthrough
technology for the brain” that is designed to
understand how our brain works, then interface
using the brain, and ultimately engineer with
the brain to implant wireless brain-computer
interfaces in the most complex human organ
to help cure neurological conditions like
Alzheimer’s, dementia and spinal cord injuries
and ultimately fuse humankind with artificial
intelligence. Of course, campaigners are
against this and not only site the security risks
of such technology, but wonder whether the
product is ethical. Andrew Maynard of OneZero
said: “Unless ethical questions like these are
addressed early on, we’re either looking at a
future where brain-computer interfaces create
more problems than they solve or one where
Neuralink has gone bust because it didn’t take
the social and ethical concerns seriously enough
from the beginning,” though added that there’s
“still time for Neuralink and others to develop
a robust strategy for ethical and responsible
innovation, so everyone can realize the full
benefits of the technology.” Such technologies
may feel like they’re straight out of a Black Mirror
script book, but the truth is that they’re around
the corner. Musk’s concept is actively being
experimented on using pigs, and the tech
could see the light of day before the end of the
decade, changing the way we live forever.
Okay, Elon Musk’s example is perhaps one of
the most extreme on the scale, but tech can
improve the way we live and also disappear,
making us feel as though we’re making the
decisions ourselves, forgetting that large parts