Transhumanism is a futuristic concept where man and technology blend, resulting in soulless intelligent machines. It is a movement that favors the evolution of a new species of human through the use of integrative circuitry. Referred to as “human betterment for the post-human era,” transhumanists assume that humanity will only be enhanced by machines. No damage. No degradation. And no possibility for coercion or domination. In a post-human world, humanity as we know it will be obsolete.
In 2012, artificial intelligence pioneer Ray Kurzweil became Director of Engineering and Chief Futurist at Google. He was hired to work on projects to teach machines to learn. Kurzweil predicts that by 2030 (there’s that date again) technological advances will allow tiny nano-bots into the bloodstream by way of injection. From there, they’ll pass through the blood-brain barrier, and integrate into the brain. The human brain can then connect “the cloud,” achieving a level of brilliance never thought possible. So, essentially, biological beings will become “non-biological entities.” In his book, The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology, Kurzweil states, “In the future, there will be no distinction between human and machine, or between physical and virtual reality.”
But if our brains can tap UP into the cloud, it only makes sense the what’s in the cloud could be pushed DOWN into our brain. So, the question becomes: Who controls the specific information we’re allowed to tap into? Who determines which downloads we’ll get? The disturbing vision of thousands — or millions — of Manchurian Candidates comes to mind.
The Quest for Control of the Human Brain
In former-president Obama’s 2013 State of the Union Address, he announced his plan to invest in brain mapping technologies. In April of that year, a $100+ million initiative was launched called BRAIN, which stands for Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies. Multiple public-private partnerships were funded, including the Allen Institute for Brain Science, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, and the Kavli Foundation and Institutes. Our tax dollars also funded this project; the government allocations included:
- $20 million to the National Science Foundation to study how Big Data could be used to understand the ability of the brain to generate thoughts, emotions, and memories;
- $40 million to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop training tools and resources to support the BRAIN initiative; and
- $50 million to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop tools to capture and process dynamic neural and synaptic activities.
Using those funds — and more — DARPA announced in 2016 it would develop the Neural Engineering System Design (NESD) program. Touted as the next-level brain-computer interface (BCI), the NESD system is designed to turn brain activity into a binary code, allowing humans to engage with machines wirelessly, by simply thinking.
Darkside of Research
While many amazing medical uses could come from this research, from treating PTSD and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), to maneuvering brain-activated exoskeletons and prosthetic limbs, it takes very little imagination to see how this research could quickly turn…
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