Human augmentation
When ChatGPT was new my son and I had a conversation. He was of the impression that having a neural interface with the AI would make humans far more intelligent and able to progress faster. I took an opposite view. The idea of interfacing with an interface, a chip or other augmentation is something I want no part of.
But Why?
That's a tougher question. I mean wouldn't it be nice if I could look a plant and just know what it is. Know if it was poisonous. How what the fruit tasted like. Know if it was sick or healthy, local or invasive? Generally know about the world around me and everything in it. Never need to worry about getting lost because the chip would tell me when I was and how to get where I needed to go.
And Research
Wow. Imagine if I had access to all prior research on a topic right away with a filter to give me what I needed. How much faster could I create novel experiments if I knew everyone else's prior experiments, what worked and didn't, and then make things to carry on.
My son had a point.
An interface with an AI, chip, or other device that gave me encyclopedia or internet level knowledge with zero effort would be a game changer for research, music, art, business and pretty much every other field you could imagine.
But is advancement the end goal?
If the end goal of human existence is to achieve as much as possible then sure, why not, lets put chips on our brains and figure everything out. However, I don't think that is the whole point.
People have a limited lifetime. There is a song called "Twenty two thousand days". The refrain "it's not a lot, its all we got". How would I like to spend it? Ideally I would like to enjoy it. Writing articles, watching movies, listening to music, exploring new places, chatting with friends and family, tasting new food and generally enjoying the world around me. As a Christian I suppose I would say "I've been given a wonderful gift by God, I'm going to do my best to appreciate it".
Human advancement and science has brought us to a point where everyone could lead pretty good lives if she shared, conserved, and made equality a priority. Debate me on that if you wish however, I will contend that the world has enough "Science and Technology" and doesn't need super brains to advance. It needs more caring, compassion, and love to help use what we already have so everyone can benefit.
Unfortunately government control, corporate greed, and human nature mean that things most certainly NOT how they should be.
Do I want a chip so we can make more technology? No. We can't even deal with what we already have.
How about a chip that lets me know everything? Even worse! I like not knowing and I like learning, experiencing and finding out. I chip that trivializes new knowledge or gives me everything all at once? It would spoil the joy of a new song, new favorite movie, or new favorite food. I mean... capers... I was 55 when I found out about them and ... way yummier than I ever thought!
Corporate Greed and Government Oversight
The biggest reason I wouldn't want a chip in my head is that I always want to be me. If I let someone else into my head? Ugh. How do I know corporations aren't going to add a subtle bias to my thoughts? How do I know governments aren't going to curb my actions to make me more "acceptable" to society.
Or if you don't think corporations or governments are trying to persuade you to follow their agenda. What if the chip malfunctions of breaks? Human bodies are surprisingly good at doing what they do. At recovering, repairing and generally being resilient. They aren't perfect by any stretch but... Humans commonly live to 80+ years old. How many cars can say the same? How many computers? For the reliability issue along I wouldn't want something implanted in me.
As another aside. My brain knows what to remember and what to forget. If I look back on my life there have been some incredibly painful times. Times I was bullied. times I suffered heartbreak. Times I've suffered painful losses. Times I've just done stupid stuff. Luckily the brain does a good job of filing those away into the "don't need to think about it file" or conveniently forgets. Why would I ever want a chip that makes those bad memories or feelings "locked in" by a chip? Then again I've learned a lot from those memories so why would I ever want a chip that gives me a "delete" function?
Augment my mind. Terrible idea....
Mostly
Augmentation in disease
While I would typically say "No Way" to having something in my brain I won't say never. I saw my step father get Alzheimers disease and he got to the point where he didn't know who his loved ones where, didn't know where he was, didn't know who he way, couldn't enjoy music, watch a show, or carry a conversation. In the end he couldn't talk and barely respond. He was still in there and smiled when he got a cookie because his brain could still register something tasty. The man I knew was gone though.
As for my mom? She had a stroke. Simple things like basic addition used to be something she could do but after the stroke? She was so frustrated that her brain let her down and even writing the word "two hundred" on a cheque caused her no end of trouble.
If the brain is broken? It would be nice to have a way to fix it. In those instances where my body's tool is broken it would be nice if there was a backup available.
So, in response to the Hive Learners prompt?
I'm going to say absolutely no to BioHacking
...but a maybe if medically necessary
...and I'm going to diet and exercise regularly, pray and read my bible regularly, so hopefully the day never comes that I have to decide whether or not to get an implant....because by that time I'll be too far gone and someone will make the decision for me (sigh).
Anyways, those are my quick thoughts. As always I love replies and comments. Feel free to leave me one if you like and thank you for getting this far in the article. Appreciated.