Will designer brains divide humanity? | Hacker News Reader

Will designer brains divide humanity?

newscientist.com

21 pointscodeodor12 comments

Wow. One of the links in the article lead to this:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn14000-robomonkeys-use-...

Researchers have several Macaque monkeys controlling robot arms via a direct neural interface and using the arms to feed themselves...

The fluidity of the robot arm's movement are amazing, you can see the monkey interacting with it as though it genuinely has come to associate the arm with itself!

Watch closely and you'll see the arm move closer to the monkey at one point because it has spotted a scrap of food stuck to it that it wants to eat.

The article looks at both viewpoints. Personally, I think we are aways down the path of augmentation with cell phones and laptops. I dont see any great divide coming. Just like everything else there will be early adopters and late adopters. Eventually everyone will have the choice. Again, think cell phones. It's not going to be a race war between humans and super humans.

Exactly. And besides, I'm really not sure that I want to be an early adopter.

The thought that any bugs or problems would be directly affecting my brain kind of freaks me out.

I definitely like the idea of reshaping my brain, but I'm pretty cautious. I'm comfortable with things like exercise, diet, and meditation. But I want to know that I'm in control of the process.

The early adopters will probably those who need it for medical reasons: blind, deaf, brain/nerve damage, prosthetic limbs, Alzheimer's, etc.

Brain implants have already been in use for a decade. Brain pacemakers have been successfully used to treat epilepsy, Parkinson's, and depression. So while the implants seem relatively simplistic, they do exist.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain_pacemaker

It's the only thing that could possibly undivide humanity.

Only if we all have to get them.

Humanity is already deeply divided by the ownership of technology; it has been for all of recorded history. Those that have the technology have won the wars, grown the food, and built the shelters to survive and propagate in greater numbers. The availability of augmented brainpower may widen the gap, but it will not create it.

I predict a dilemma. On one hand, there will be an offer to become a cyborg with superior intellect. And let's just call this futuristic mind-enhancing technology "chip", to simplify further.

So, on the other hand this chip will contain methods to manipulate thoughts of people. Thus, making thought crime possible. Sex offenders and criminals will be forced to accept this, of course. So if you pee in public, you'll have to have you thoughts controlled for the rest of your life.

On the other hand, as the thought power of intellectuals will be brought further and further forward, their differences and disobediences will also be punished. The consciousness will be merged together. So, we'll have a giant brain made up of intellectually-enhanced cyborg-people that will be able to solve a crapload of problems.

Ok, this scares me. A lot.

Ever watched any Ghost in the Shell?

OH MY GOD IT'S THE END OF THE EARTH CYBORGS AND ROBOTS WILL KILL US ALLL!!!

I admit that some of the latest advancements in brain-machine interfaces have been impressive, but articles like these are ridiculously bogus. Even if we could make a nontrivial BMI it would still require a surgeon to plant it just right. Don't even get me started on AI.

Factory-issue brains have already divided humanity.

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