Would you be ready to have a microchip transplant inside your brain?

[Moustachauve]

What are the pro you can see? What are the con that repeal you toward this idea?

Briefly, here is my opinion :

I would never want anything like that Implanted inside me. First of all, if we observe how easily television can influence us, I don't even want to imagine what a chips directly inside our head could do to us.

Secondly, seeing how easily hacker could possibly access any system they want if they really wanted, I don't think it is a good idea at all to have something in our head that could possibly control us and be accessed by everyone.

[Kryten]

A microchip to do what?

[WestAir]

If it would let me play KSP while I'm at work, in my head, then sure.

If it would just let people hack my brain like some bad rendition of Ghost In The Shell, then no.

If it were a combination of the above, I'll take my chances.

[Jokurr]

Screw microchips, I’m going straight for the nanochips, put them all over me!

[Moustachauve]

Here is an example of article about this : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16305299

[Grove]

You could've just summarised the article for TL;DR people.

[Grove]

If I'd ever have deafness/ blindness I'd want to get hearing/seeing back, so if the chips we're an option, I'd probably take them. Worst thing that could probably happen is a short circuit inside my brain.

[SuperFastJellyfish]

What are the pro you can see? What are the con that repeal you toward this idea?

Briefly, here is my opinion :

I would never want anything like that Implanted inside me. First of all, if we observe how easily television can influence us, I don't even want to imagine what a chips directly inside our head could do to us.

Secondly, seeing how easily hacker could possibly access any system they want if they really wanted, I don't think it is a good idea at all to have something in our head that could possibly control us and be accessed by everyone.

It would depend on what it does and if it was accessible wirelessly after it was implanted.

[Sir_Tramalot]

Really, It has sort of started to happen, E.G pacemakers.

[Comrade Jenkens]

Definately not!! Though its a cool and useful idea, the sad truth is there are ppl out there who who take advantage of this and be able to hack into them or install viruses. This could range from annoying to potentialy fatal.

[Banbite]

I just played through Deus Ex: Human Revolution so I have to say no...

Quick rundown of the story of that game: massive corperations puts in microchips (or biochips) in peoples heads which later turns out to be a bad idea.

[Kryten]

Definately not!! Though its a cool and useful idea, the sad truth is there are ppl out there who who take advantage of this and be able to hack into them or install viruses. This could range from annoying to potentialy fatal

Why would such a chip require any kind of network connection?

[bsalis]

I am against Transhumanism.

I think it will be the end of us.

[Grove]

I just played through Deus Ex: Human Revolution so I have to say no...

Quick rundown of the story of that game: massive corperations puts in microchips (or biochips) in peoples heads which later turns out to be a bad idea.

Oh wow you don't get the game, I won't discuss this on the thread as it's offtopic.

[Latcarf]

If the chip was a treatment for an ailment i was suffering (am to suffer), then absolutely. Sign me up. Like was mentioned before an alternative to being blind etc is worth the risk.

@Kryten, implant being networked would be useful for things like blindness, replacement eyes could be installed and connect to the chip without having to "wire" anything. However, nano-tech could solve that issue.

[DrDima]

Electrodes have been implanted successfully into a human brain before. However the greatest challenge scientists have to face is precision. Much is unknown about the human brain and the effects of stimulating it trough electromagnetic fields.

So if tomorrow they brought a microchip on the market I wouldn't have it implanted. At least not before it's been in circulation for at least a decade and the side-effects are known.

PS: If you're intrested about this kind of thing, check out Michael Crichton's 'Terminal', it gives a realistic view of how it would be possible TODAY.

[WestAir]

I am against Transhumanism.

I think it will be the end of us.

The end of us, or the beginning? Let's face it, as it stands now, computers are on a set path to outmatch man in everything from efficiency to capability to intelligence. Given the possibility of a technological singularity occurring, humanity may well be on the fast track to becoming obsolete in the wake of artificial intelligence. Let's look at reality here: Over the next century, about 8 in every 10 jobs will be replaced by mechanized workers. Most of these are in the military sector: Pilots, crew, infantry. In the private sector we have similar chop-block industries: vehicle operators (boats/planes/trains), clerks and other defining service-based duties. It's not that people can't do these things well, it's that machines can do it better at no pay, no sick days, 24/7, and they never cause arguments or fights. They're also faster - in the case of the military a drone air superiority aircraft can handle dozens the magnitude of G forces a human can. An automated system for trains will never miss a red signal and cause a train crash, and the assembly line machine doesn't need health insurance, retirement, or 3 weeks of leave every year.

If mechanized workers were to hit a technological singularity, they'd also be able to invent and design better computers and buildings and technologies than our best scholars, with one computer matching the entire processing power of the entire human race. I'll quote I. J. Good on this one,

Let an ultra-intelligent machine be defined as a machine that can far surpass all the intellectual activities of any man however clever. Since the design of machines is one of these intellectual activities, an ultra-intelligent machine could design even better machines; there would then unquestionably be an ‘intelligence explosion,’ and the intelligence of man would be left far behind. Thus the first ultra-intelligent machine is the last invention that man need ever make.

That said, the only way mankind would be able to compete with artificial intelligence is through transhumanism. If we can use synthetics, carbon-nano-tube bones, etc etc, we may stand a chance of staying relevant into the coming centuries.

[Moustachauve]

Why would such a chip require any kind of network connection?

To access more information, and many futuristics things. Imagine how great it would be to have something like google glasses, but directly in your brain. (Of course, I would NEVER want something like that, since it is really really risky).

On a more realistic way, I would never want any kind of Robot police or any armed/dangerous robot wirelessly controlled, as someone could take control over it

[Banbite]

Oh wow you don't get the game, I won't discuss this on the thread as it's offtopic.

I did a pretty bad rundown tbh, but the events of that game made me kind of wonder whether or not planting chips into peoples head (or other types of augmentations) is such a good thing. Mostly because it gives the ones who make and design the chips direct access into your brain which can be massively abused.

So I don't really distrust the technology, it could help a lot, I just don't trust the guys who's gonna make them with that power.

Edited May 28, 2013 by Banbite

[Thaniel]

To access more information, and many futuristics things. Imagine how great it would be to have something like google glasses, but directly in your brain. (Of course, I would NEVER want something like that, since it is really really risky).

On a more realistic way, I would never want any kind of Robot police or any armed/dangerous robot wirelessly controlled, as someone could take control over it

Realisticly, and a much more soon-to-be-in-a-store-near-you sollution may be in lenses: http://gizmodo.com/5861749/heads+up-display-contact-lenses-are-one-step-closer-after-passing-safety-tests

I did a pretty bad rundown tbh, but the events of that game made me kind of wonder whether or not planting chips into peoples head (or other types of augmentations) is such a good thing. Mostly because it gives the ones who make and design the chips direct access into your brain which can be massively abused.

So I don't really distrust the technology, it could help a lot, I just don't trust the guys who's gonna make them with that power.

Well, the nations with them big rockets with big heads use chips in them, and they have mostly not been hacked so severly that they have launched any of them yet, other than in tests or missfires.

Anyway, if the alternative is being blind, deaf or incapable to do complex math (co prosessor would be a nice feature) then I'd want one. The risk is bigger if there is a wireless connection, but of that isn't needed, then the risk isn't too discouraging. There will allways be risks in life. And there will allways be people fighting to keep the good things in life. I don't think the danger is that big a problem. Atleast not if the developers and would-be producers of such items don't go EA on us.

[nyrath]

I would not let a chip be implanted into my brain unless it had one massive firewall.

If you attach an unprotected computer to the internet, it will be infected by a computer virus in about five minutes flat.

I do not want a mental virus turning me into a cyber zombie.

[Brabbit1987]

I wouldn't get it right away, but eventually yes. Unlike the lot of you, I am not a pussy .... oh wait ... technically I am *coughs* Stupid joke.

Anyway, I just don't see the worry. Hackers? The only reason hackers even usually hack is to obtain information such as credit cards. There are some who just do it to try, but what are the chances you will be involved? It probably be even less common then getting robbed.

Why would I risk it though? The reason is simple, to protect myself. If the technological singularity happens, those with chips will have access to everything the machines do. This could cause a major jump in human intelligence. That intelligence itself can protect you from hackers. Also you would be much healthier with the chip as I am sure it will be able to detect health issues much faster then a doctor could.

You have 2 choices really. Chip and progress with the rest of man and women kind. No chip, end up being left out of this massive transition to a type 1 civilization and lose all it's benefits, which is more worth it then worrying about hackers.

Edited May 28, 2013 by Brabbit1987

[Holo]

I'd take it a heartbeat. If a hacker takes control of my brain, the worst they could do is give false sensory information, and I'm confident that I (or doctors/psychologists) would be able to correctly identify it as such and repair the offending implant.

[Moustachauve]

Imagine if everybody had such a chip. If someone can take the control over you, why couldn't they take the control of the world? (This sentence sound really cliche) Image what a tyran could do if everybody had these little chips inside them

[ShachonianX]

Imagine if everybody had such a chip. If someone can take the control over you, why couldn't they take the control of the world? (This sentence sound really cliche) Image what a tyran could do if everybody had these little chips inside them

Oh god.....