July 16th, 2019 will go down in history as the day that Elon Musk shocked the world. In a presentation at California’s Academy of Sciences, Musk revealed that people will one day merge with artificial intelligence via his Neuralink brain-computer interface. I’ve followed Elon for quite some time now, as he’s an interesting character who is making lots of technological breakthroughs.
In the past Musk has divvied out strong warnings about the dangers of AI’s inevitable emergence into our world. He spoke in such a way where I am convinced that he not only saw firsthand evidence of advanced artificial intelligence but also that he may not have the authority to disclose what he saw.
A while back, I learned of an AI summit which required attendees to sign a non-disclosure agreement which prohibited people from revealing details of the conference to the public. Two years after Elon warned that AI will make humanity obsolete, and in he comes right on time with his proposed solution to the AI problem.
Instead of raging against the invention of the wheel, we can use it if we so choose. We can make a wheelbarrow, a bike or a car, perhaps roller-skates or rollerblades. This author is in favor of freedom of choice as long as it’s voluntary. I’ve never had a problem with people who engage in body modification, and the Neuralink is body-modification w/high technology.
Is the brain chip dangerous? It may very well be, but I also think it’s a potentially giant leap forward in human evolution if we can manage to avoid an extinction-level event before we get there. For many people, this topic and the fact that anyone might be open-minded to it is taboo—however, what we have to remind ourselves is that technology is a tool.
Both good and bad people will use technology to their advantage, and this will happen regardless if we approve or not. If bad actors use this tech to do nefarious things, they will become far more intelligent because of the ability to learn and adapt with speed and precision. So much so, that people with good intentions won’t have a fighting chance. Just imagine expecting Neo from the Matrix to do what he did without all of the prerequisite training programs.
I guess what I’m saying is: learn to like it, love it, or leave it. The future is here and now. People will get these wires installed in their heads, and it will be a game-changer. I’m not advocating that anyone should serve as the canary in the coal mine and chip themselves, but what I am saying is that we should pay very close attention to these new technologies because in the decades to come it will alter the foreseeable landscape as we know it.
The speed at which Neuralink has created multiple chip generations is staggering, and they built their project on over a century of brain research. To go down that rabbit hole, I’d highly recommend watching Aaron and Melissa Dykes’ 2018 film The Minds of Men. It is by far the most thorough documentary on mind control that I’ve ever seen.
Below you will see a video by Cold Fusion. He expertly summarized the entire two-hour talk into an easily digestible 37 minutes with graphics and professional narration to boot. I’d watch his video first, and then if you want to watch the entire Neuralink presentation, click on this link here.
