Neuralink; A Peril for Humanity or Blessing?

Neuralink; A Peril for Humanity or Blessing?

Would the artificialised be still be a Human? An ethical dilemma provoking habitual over thinkers ubiquitously.

Proponents of such mutation are delighted to finally behold the first conception of this Cybernetic technology, which was just an idea a few years ago. Are we at the zenith of Human-Machine Interaction?

Elon Musk's Neuralink Chip N1, Helps a Patient Play Video Games with Thoughts.

Neuralink N1 seems like a bold stride in the human-machine functioning as a single unit.

On the surface the advantages seem very obvious and bountifully benevolent.

• It will enable people to control their computers, phones and devices with their thoughts.

• Patients with Neuralink chips will be able to manoeuvre their prosthetic limbs with their thoughts. This will be proximate to imitating the natural neural network of the human body.

• Patients will be able recover their impaired vision and hearing through artificial sensors translating the real world to the chip in their head, which will in turn translate and deliver the information to the brain.

Could there be dangers associated with this technology as well, some critics definitely think so.

Here’s a few premonitions startling them

• Elon had stated in the Global Government Summit 2020 in Dubai that the true potential of Neural chips would be to save our memories, and download them. Once our physical bodies expire, we should be able to transfer the memories and consciousness to the robotic/synthetic body. This puts a question mark on the perfectibility of human beings. By adding enhancements like neural chips to augment our faculties, we would improve our bodies but would we ever become perfect? How would we know when we have crossed it and taken a detour in the very wrong direction? A moral quandary, which at the least makes us think, whether we should be content with what we have or strive for so-called perfection, that will never be achieved.

• The second is the issue of economics. The technology is going to cost a lot, probably only the rich would be able to afford it. This would further engulf the divide between the various socio-economic classes of our society as Elon Musk has hinted that this technology could be a pathway to achieve immortality to some extent. Memories and consciousness transferred into a new robotic or synthetic body means that the rich would never die. It does seem very similar to sci-fi programmes like “Altered Carbon”.

• With AI used as a content creation through prompt and verbal cues, the addition of human-machine interface with Neuralink posits newer challenges and implications.

• Some very obvious threats to the patients with Neuralink chips embedded in their brains are identity theft, password hacking and blackmail.

Time will tell us more as further progress is made in this realm of humanisation of machines.