Let's be honest - human bodies, in their original form, are adapted exclusively for a short life on our home planet. Even if the life expectancy in the future will increase significantly, it is unlikely that the century-old representatives of our species will shine with health, and even more so, plow space. But how, then, can we prolong the very existence of our civilization, especially in view of the many threats facing humanity? The answer probably lies in the unification of machines and humans. The ever-increasing speed of technology and neuroscience, coupled with the creation of supercomputers, advanced body parts and artificial limbs, is paving the way for the fusion of man and machine. It is possible that you and I will witness the emergence of the cyberpunk era. But what will the people of the future be like?
After the end of the Second World War, the population of our planet continues to grow. At the same time, around 1945, a real scientific and technological revolution took place in the world. This means that mankind has switched to technology and technology based on fundamentally new scientific ideas. We replaced manual tools with machine tools, atomic steam energy, learned to use laser technologies, created computers and the Internet. Thus, more scientific discoveries have taken place in the past 60 years than in previous centuries. Exciting, isn't it?
Sick, crazy world
And yet, before admiring human genius, it may be worth questioning the very benefits of the scientific and technological revolution. This is exactly what the American mathematician and terrorist Theodore Kaczynski did. He has three lives to his credit and became famous for his mail-bomb campaign. From 1978 to 1995, Kaczynski sent 16 bombs to universities and airlines, for which he became widely known as the Unabomber. The most interesting thing is that, despite the diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia, given to him after his arrest, Kaczynski did not recognize himself as insane. As a result, he appeared in court and pleaded guilty. The mathematician is serving a life sentence in one of the US prisons. Not so long ago, a mini-series called "The Hunt for the Unabomber" saw the light of day, which tells about the events of those years. But what turned the scientist into a terrorist and what did he want to achieve?
Theodore Kaczynski grew up not quite an ordinary child. So, at the age of 16, he was enrolled at Harvard University, received a bachelor's degree, and later a doctorate in mathematics from the University of Michigan. At 25, Kaczynski became a senior lecturer at the University of California at Berkeley, but two years later he quit his job and moved to a hut without electricity and running water, where he lived until his arrest. On April 24, 1995, Kaczynski sent his manifesto to The New York Times, entitled Industrial Society and Its Future, also known as the Unabomber Manifesto. In his work, Kaczynski promised to stop terrorist attacks if society heeded his words about the danger of scientific and technological progress. According to the mathematician, the development of technology will inevitably lead to the restriction of human rights and freedoms. Some of the most famous quotes from Kaczynski's manifesto are:
Agree, it's rather difficult to say that these words belong to a madman. It is not surprising that after reading the work of the Unabomber he had followers, including such critics of technology and industrialization as John Zerzan, Herbert Marcuse, Freddy Perlma, and others. In general, Kaczynski considered scientific and technological progress to be the greatest tragedy on Earth and urged to abandon further technology development. And if you do not take into account the cruel way of communicating their ideas to the public, the Unabomber was right that despite the rapid progress and development of technology, we are still people who are characterized by mistakes, aggression, rivalry and other not very pleasant qualities.
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It was this fact that deeply worried one of the most prominent scientists of the twentieth century, the astronomer Carl Sagan. In his book “A world full of demons. Science is like a candle in darkness”, the scientist reflects on the rapid development of technology, the threat of nuclear war, the future of science and society, as well as human rights and freedoms. However, most of all Sagan worried about the fact that we use the gifts of modern civilization without really understanding how they work. We live in a world in which not every driver understands how and why his car drives, not to mention being aware of the operation of computers, the Internet, smartphones and other devices. It doesn't take a genius to understand how dangerous such a world can be. Meanwhile, the technological future is rapidly approaching. Some experts believe that within 50 years robots will surpass human intelligence.and people themselves will embark on the path of unification with machines. At the same time, we will be all the same Homo Sapiens, prone to delusions, mistakes and disregard of freedom. Perhaps this is not good or bad, it's just our nature. But when it comes to the technological future and cyborgs, we shouldn't forget about the threats that we pose to ourselves. After all, there is nothing unambiguous in the world.
The fruits of the scientific and technological revolution
Devices that were once worn on the body are now being implanted into the body, resulting in a class of true cyborgs that exhibit a range of skills that surpass those of ordinary people. There are cyborgs that can see color when they hear sounds, others have the ability to detect magnetic fields, some are equipped with telephoto lenses or implanted computers to monitor their heart rate, and they also use their thoughts to communicate with a computer or manipulate robotic arms. Everything you just read about is not science fiction. All the events described are taking place right now and will develop in the future.
However, the revolutionary discovery was the work of Israeli scientists, which was published in the journal Computing intelligence and neuroscience. In it, researchers talk about the creation of an implant that will allow people to remember much more information. According to scientists, human memory is fragile and unreliable, especially in an era of information overload. As expected, various assistive devices are in abundance today, but they work indirectly and people have to make an effort to remember large amounts of data.
In their work, a team of specialists announces the creation of a working prototype of a simplified random access memory (RAM) with a capacity of 4 KB, information from which can be written or read by the power of thought. It should be noted that this is the first of its kind truly revolutionary work, because RAM is a prototype of an additional memory chip that does not need to be implanted into the brain. It is enough to attach it to the neck in a non-invasive way. And despite the fact that the amount of RAM at the moment is only 4 KB, scientists were able to understand the very mechanism of creating such devices. In the course of the work, specialists have created a device that recognizes the electrical activity of the brain (EEG), writes the received data on a special RFID tag, reads the information and displays it on the display. As a result, in addition to increasing the amount of memory,in the future, RAM will be able not only to significantly improve the lives of people suffering from neurodegenerative diseases, but also allow recording the memories of other people, which can later be read. Agree, this opens the door to a completely different reality and makes the union of man and machine less dangerous than today.
Modern cyborgs - who are they?
Nearly two years ago, Dennis Degrey sent an unusual text message to his friend: "You are holding the very first text message sent by neurons in one mind to another's mobile device." The fact is that the lower body of 66-year-old Dennis Degrey was paralyzed after an unsuccessful fall more than ten years ago. However, in 2016, he was able to send a message to his friend using two tiny squares of silicon with protruding metal electrodes implanted into his motor cortex, the part of his brain that controls movement. They record the activity of neurons for translation into external actions. By imagining the movement of the joystick with his hand, Degrey can move the cursor to select a letter on the screen. So, he bought groceries from Amazon and operated a robotic arm to stack blocks.
The implant, operated by Degrey, was implanted in him as part of the BrainGate program, a multi-year US research project to develop and test new neurotechnologies aimed at restoring US connectivity, mobility, and independence. Surgical implants were received by no more than a few dozen people around the world who lost contact with their limbs as a result of an accident or a neurodegenerative disease. However, despite the fact that the introduction of brain implants has become a reality, it is a complex procedure that is performed on an open brain. Moreover, the system is not wireless - a socket sticks out of the patients' skulls, through which wires transmit a signal to computers for decoding using machine learning algorithms. Tasks that can be done and how well they can be doneare limited, because the system records from several tens to a couple of hundred neurons out of approximately 88 billion.
However, no matter how amazing their new, almost telepathic abilities may seem to Degrei and the rest of the program participants, this will not last forever. Scar tissue, the brain's reaction to damage caused by inserting a device, gradually builds up on the electrodes, resulting in a gradual decrease in signal quality. And when the research sessions, which are held twice a week, are over, the devices will be turned off. But this is just the beginning. Supported by BrainGate and other companies, as well as well-known entrepreneurs, researchers are trying to develop a new generation of commercial equipment that could ultimately help not only people with disabilities, but all of us. While some companies, including Facebook, are pursuing non-invasive versions,others are working on wireless neural implant systems.
In July, Elon Musk, better known as the CEO of Tesla electric car company and head of SpaceX, unveiled details of an implantable wireless system that his company Neuralink is building. Neuralink is being tested in monkeys, and it is hoped that human trials will begin before the end of 2020, according to Musk. Neuralink has received $ 158 million in funding to date. Despite the fact that the implant under development is the same size as the device in Degrey's brain, it has many more electrodes, which means that it can record the activity of many more neurons. According to Musk, the procedure will be more like laser eye surgery than brain surgery. Be that as it may, medical problems are the driving force behind the development of the device,however, the SpaceX chief is also concerned about the threat posed by artificial intelligence.
Companies such as Paradromics and Synchron in Silicon Valley intend to compete with Musk. At the same time, none of the three companies sees non-medical solutions in the short term, but argues that implant technology can gradually spread to the population of the planet as a whole, when people begin to understand how such a connection between a machine and a person changes the familiar world. It should be noted that against the background of Neuralink and BrainGate implants, the RAM device created by Israeli scientists looks like the beginning of an era of secure cyberization.
Reasons for concern
While the creation of high-tech prostheses and exoskeletons does not pose a threat to the life and freedom of society, the creation of technologies through which the power of thought can control computers and machines raises concerns. According to The Guardian, according to a report from the Royal Society of Great Britain, the public must have a clear voice in shaping how neural interface technology will be used and regulated in the coming years. One of the problems is data confidentiality, although it is too early to worry that implants will reveal the most intimate secrets - today they record information from very small areas of the brain associated mainly with movement and require the user's mental effort.
However, questions remain. Who owns the brain data of implant users and what is it used for? And brainstorming, where a third party can take control of a system and change it without the brain's owner, is rooted in reality, not science fiction. An example is cases of non-hacking of pacemakers. Further ethical questions are about oversight - if a brain implant does not fit your intentions, to what extent are you, as the user of the device, responsible for what is “said” or done? And how can you ensure that if technology is successful and profitable, it can be accessed by all people, not just billionaires and the military?
According to some researchers, we still have several years to properly think about the questions posed. Many experts expect the technology to be available to people with neurodegenerative diseases or disabilities within five or 10 years. For non-medical use, the periods are longer - perhaps 20 years. And given the speed of development of modern technologies and, in particular, artificial intelligence, perhaps we should all listen to critics of scientific and technological progress and draw certain conclusions.
Lyubov Sokovikova