# Brain Chips...



## -K2- (Aug 26, 2020)

So, you all thought I was just crazy when I said you needed to _*'foil-up your coconut'*_ to protect your government implanted brain chip from the Martian rays. Well, who's crazy now? If this is a public announcement, it's been decades in the making   



			Elon Musk says his AI brain chip company Neuralink will run a live tech demo of a 'working device' on Friday
		

"Neuralink showcased designs last year for two future devices: a microchip that records and stimulates brain activity using electrodes, and a sewing-machine-like device that implants these electrodes into the brain's cortex."

Yep, I'm triple foiling tonight! 

K2


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## MikeAnderson (Aug 27, 2020)

It's not the chips implanted into a cerebral cortex that frightens me; it's the fact they'll be produced by Elon Musk.

You can't even roll up a window in a Tesla without it malfunctioning; what happens when the graphics card now required to register vision fries out?


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## MikeAnderson (Aug 27, 2020)

Oh, sneak peek of the last thing one will see when the neural interface takes a dump, and you die...


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## Foxbat (Aug 27, 2020)

I'm always left with mixed feelings about this stuff. On the one hand, I do think the potential for improving quality of life for severely disabled people lies in this technology. On the other, the abuse of this tech could lead to us becoming a race of mindless Musk Men, fit only for a Doctor Who episode...


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## Dave (Aug 27, 2020)

There was a TV programme on in the UK last night (I confess that I didn't watch it) about a scientist with Motor Neurone disease who was turning himself into a cyborg to try to beat it and stay alive. This is certainly the future.

Ignoring the benefits to disabled people or the gaining of superpowers for one moment, just the ability to hands free Google search information, and so make everyone educated, ought to make the world a much better place. Well, you'd think so, only that being educated is not the same thing as being clever, and it is more about how one makes use of that information than about having it easily to hand. The way that online searches favour advertisers in their rankings, auto correct spellings that are correct, and block some searches, would mean that you were not thinking for yourself anymore. The world thrives on everyone being different and bringing different views and ideas to the table. When all the Banks use the same stocks and shares predictive algorithms then we get a banking crisis much deeper than it would otherwise be. When all the bookies use the same algorithms to set betting odds, they set themselves up to one day lose money on a much more widespread scale. And I won't even mention predicted school exam results. I would worry that we would all be taught to think in exactly the same way, and to jump to the same undoubted conclusions. That cannot never be a good thing.


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## TheEndIsNigh (Aug 27, 2020)

-K2- said:


> Yep, I'm triple foiling tonight!
> 
> K2



You can't just throw out lines like that. 

Three minutes of chuckles. Thanks.


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## Stephen Palmer (Aug 27, 2020)

Funny how so many billionaires are brilliant self-publicists.


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## .matthew. (Aug 27, 2020)

Having a lot to say on this subject I'm just going to chill and mostly avoid it...

I will recommend two books which touch heavily on the subject though (both are decent reads as well).
Jaffle Inc
Dogs of War


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## -K2- (Aug 27, 2020)

.matthew. said:


> Having a lot to say on this subject I'm just going to chill and mostly avoid it...
> 
> I will recommend two books which touch heavily on the subject though (both are decent reads as well).
> Jaffle Inc
> Dogs of War



Check out _The Happiness Cage_ a.k.a. _The Mind Snatchers_ (movie based on a play) with Christopher Walken who also played in _The Dogs of War_ movie.

Disturbing...

Anywho, with that said...there are some possible benefits like bypassing a severed spine, epilepsy (if I recall correctly...hard drive corruption, sorry), and a whole host of other maladies which could be overcome...But, in my opinion, there is too much possibility for abuse. Not that anyone would ever do that 

Besides, I don't want a scar on my rump when they implant it in my brain.

K2


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## Venusian Broon (Aug 27, 2020)

Hilarious that people think the governments of the world actually would want to chip everyone, usually giving the reason that the state government wants to 'control' you.

When as we all know, the technology to pinpoint what we are doing our lives and exactly where we are, have been available for years. Namely Facebook, Amazon, SFFChronicles, mobile phones, personal computers, electronic banking, surveillance cameras, credit scores, electoral registration etc. Why go to the huge cost of soddin' putting microships in people, when you have such an extensive and useful network to tap into!

From memory, I remember reading that a pair or researchers about _ten_ years ago showed that merely with publically available information from social media sites (Facebook I believe), they could pinpoint a persons location to about 100 metres in realtime, in a country like the US. Now of course they could do much better if they had _all e-_data that a person generates, not just the public stuff. But that would mean that organisations such as MI5/MI6/FBI/CIA ar illegally delving into all that data.

<slipping on my magnificant Assyrian-style tin helmet>

Yeah! It seems obvious to me that the dark recesses of these organisations,this is exactly what is happening.   I think the only saving grace is that there are millions of us and billions and trillions of bits of data being generated and not that many spies, thus we are shielded somewhat. And currently I don't think computer AI ain't that good for sifting through such a vast resource.

However, if I were a neferious government agency looking for global domination and control of the 'plebs' I'd stoke up a bit of conspiracy fear about 'chips in the head' then after letting it run for a bit, make sure that every sensible person knows that all this chip stuff is nonsense, so that they will sleep easily, feeling free. In the meantime I'd be using and improving the usual avenues of spying via the internet, the social websites etc.

<tin hat off, my head is getting sweaty>


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## .matthew. (Aug 27, 2020)

Venusian Broon said:


> In the meantime I'd be using and improving the usual avenues of spying via the internet, the social websites etc.



Do you mean the usual avenues that have only really existed for about a decade? The point with this sort of thing is that someone, somewhere ALWAYS (not an abbreviation lol...) wants more control, and any new method is quickly adopted.

It wouldn't start with mass chipping, but instead with the innocuous stuff like helping the disabled. Then maybe on to monitoring criminals (who in many places already lose the right to vote). Then once they've figured out how to influence brain chemistry through implants (either electrically or with a chemical delivery system), who could complain if these criminals were made incapable of committing violent acts at all?

Not to mention various intelligence and military organisations who may want to use it to either obtain information from a captive or ensure their agents were unable to divulge information themselves. And... if that technology exists, why not extend it to the protection of intellectual property or trade practices so that if you want a good job you'll need to have one.

How about if it becomes powerful and widespread enough to be an almost requirement for jobs? Surely you'd be at a disadvantage without a chip, leading to the point where most people would probably pay to have them installed themselves.

---

As with all innovations, the technology itself isn't a problem, rather it's the few in the position to leverage it into wealth and power.


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## -K2- (Aug 27, 2020)

Well, in any case I don't care for all this newfangled technology. 

I'm sticking with what's tried and true to be safe.

Whew, it's hot in here. I must be overthinking it. 










K2


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## Foxbat (Aug 28, 2020)

It’s a legal requirement for dogs to be chipped in the UK and many Brits are dog lovers so there’s already a large number of folk out walking their dogs in the British countryside  that are chipped by proxy...I blame 5G (well, it seems to get the blame for everything these days).

P.S. I don’t have a dog so up yours nefarious government organisation


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## Stephen Palmer (Aug 28, 2020)

Governments and government agencies are minor players in all this, and will become even less important as time goes on. It's corporations who want and use all the data.


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## Foxbat (Aug 28, 2020)

So maybe the story about cats being entertained by ipad games and being able to buy extra levels with just a few paw presses wasn’t accidental but a corporate conspiracy?


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## Foxbat (Aug 28, 2020)

The BBC article.








						Elon Musk to show off working brain-hacking device
					

Neuralink is working on ways to connect the human brain to machines.



					www.bbc.co.uk


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## -K2- (Aug 28, 2020)

Foxbat said:


> The BBC article.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



'But the long-term ambition is to usher in an age of what Mr Musk calls "superhuman cognition".'

Yeah, I saw that movie..._Johnny Mnemomic_





K2


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## CupofJoe (Aug 28, 2020)

I know someone with an RFID chip in their hand and and RFID enable front door lock. They have limited dexterity and movement so a traditional key based lock is out of the question. That's about as far as I want to go for my body-machine integration...


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## -K2- (Aug 28, 2020)

CupofJoe said:


> I know someone with an RFID chip in their hand and and RFID enable front door lock. They have limited dexterity and movement so a traditional key based lock is out of the question. That's about as far as I want to go for my body-machine integration...



Awesome to hear! I never heard of such a thing (such implants) so I added them to the palms of my protagonist to match her pistols (grip location and locks when not engaged). Glad to learn that. It makes her pistols even less speculative-tech which is better for the story.

K2


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## Foxbat (Aug 28, 2020)

I wonder how many years until people get mobile phones grafted into their palms. Just think, those flexible screens they’ve been developing would be great for the job. No chance of losing a phone after that (unless you work in somewhere like a lumber mill with a big, nasty saw). 

Which reminds me of a funny story...at my old place of work, security had a ’hidden’ camera in a duct and we used to put our hands up and wave at it as we walked by. They couldn’t tell who’s hand it was until one day, a security guard gave my colleague a talking to. When my workmate asked how he knew he was the culprit, the guard pointed to his hand. My colleague used to work in a sawmill and lost half a finger in an accident. It kind of stuck out like a sore thumb (if you’ll pardon the phrase).


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## .matthew. (Aug 28, 2020)




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## Ori Vandewalle (Aug 29, 2020)

Anybody watch the demo? It's pretty neat. They've made a small, unobtrusive implant (that's the main innovation) that can send/receive brain signals via bluetooth. They showed a pig on a treadmill where, in real time, they decode the pig's neuron firings to predict where it's going to move its limbs and then compare that to the actual limb movements.


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## -K2- (Aug 29, 2020)

Ori Vandewalle said:


> Anybody watch the demo? It's pretty neat. They've made a small, unobtrusive implant (that's the main innovation) that can send/receive brain signals via bluetooth. They showed a pig on a treadmill where, in real time, they decode the pig's neuron firings to predict where it's going to move its limbs and then compare that to the actual limb movements.



No thanks...the last time I had my brainwaves checked, they claimed I drank too much alcohol...





K2


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## TheEndIsNigh (Aug 29, 2020)

.matthew. said:


> It wouldn't start with mass chipping, but instead with the innocuous stuff like helping the disabled. Then maybe on to monitoring criminals (who in many places already lose the right to vote). Then once they've figured out how to influence brain chemistry through implants (either electrically or with a chemical delivery system), who could complain if these criminals were made incapable of committing violent acts at all?



The Covid vacine brain control conspiracy was started on the SFFChronicles** site in 2020.

Someone innocently suggested the demand for it would be so great that including the newly developed brain control chips into the anti-viral mix would be a shoe in for population control. The idea was taken up by most countries.

It has become known as the ALWAYS system because the person making the suggestion joked about it.

Since the year 2021 there have been no incidents of  revolt or riot recorded against any govenrment anywhere in the the world.

There can be no doubt that its wide introduction, helped save the planet from global warming. The desire for a better life was quashed and poplation growth ended immediately due to the brutal suppresion of sex drive amongst the masses.

Film/novel pitch copyright Sam Tein 2020



CupofJoe said:


> I know someone with an RFID chip in their hand and and RFID enable front door lock. They have limited dexterity and movement so a traditional key based lock is out of the question. That's about as far as I want to go for my body-machine integration...



Cat flaps for people. The problem will be that murder will increase as a pre-curser to robbery. Detach the head of your victim and go rob his house.



Foxbat said:


> I wonder how many years until people get mobile phones grafted into their palms. Just think, those flexible screens they’ve been developing would be great for the job. No chance of losing a phone after that (unless you work in somewhere like a lumber mill with a big, nasty saw).
> 
> Which reminds me of a funny story...at my old place of work, security had a ’hidden’ camera in a duct and we used to put our hands up and wave at it as we walked by. They couldn’t tell who’s hand it was until one day, a security guard gave my colleague a talking to. When my workmate asked how he knew he was the culprit, the guard pointed to his hand. My colleague used to work in a sawmill and lost half a finger in an accident. It kind of stuck out like a sore thumb (if you’ll pardon the phrase).



Here the problem is by the time G10 comes along you'll be the equivalent of the Tattoo'ed Man with a mobile phone up your ...


** Now banned due to it having too many free thinking contributors making suggestions like the one herein.


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## Cydramech (Sep 2, 2020)

I, for one, welcome becoming an (eternal) AI warlord.


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## Starbeast (Sep 21, 2020)

-K2- said:


> Check out _The Happiness Cage_ a.k.a. _*The Mind Snatchers*_ (movie based on a play) with Christopher Walken. Disturbing...
> 
> Anywho, with that said...there are some possible benefits like bypassing a severed spine, epilepsy (if I recall correctly...hard drive corruption, sorry), and a whole host of other maladies which could be overcome...But, in my opinion, there is too much possibility for abuse. Not that anyone would ever do that



I'm with you on this. I always think of that movie when I hear people talk about putting implants in the brain.

I've read stories and seen movies about "tinkering with the human mind". But *The Mind Snatchers *(1972), does a great job of not sugar-coating the reality (or possibility) of Mind Controlling people. I've seen the movie a few times. and it's still a very creepy movie.


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## -K2- (Sep 21, 2020)

Well the funny thing is @Starbeast ; whether it's electronic stimulus--pleasure/pain--or very subtle manipulations, control by individuals up to governments has evolved to a point that we are given options and make the intended choices, ultimately brainwashing ourselves.

On the whole, people are social creatures. So, justifiably take away certain social outlets (say drinking at bars and then driving which we all agree is bad), then offer a monitor-able alternative (the internet which evolved to BBs, chat, forums, and social networking), and the people will CHOOSE to adopt the option offered, never considering what they _might_ be giving up.

If you force controls on them--like 1984--there is always the underlying urge to rebel. If you MAKE it so they choose those controls, they'll accept it wholeheartedly.

Your PC, tablet, cell-phone, smart-watch, WiFi camera, vehicles, chipped credit cards, etc. are your current 'brain chips' as far as tracking/monitoring is concerned. By eliminating pay-phones/mobile phones (different system), and making having cash more difficult, folks have been pressured to accept the digital age or be excluded from society (say your car breaks down, going back to a time before phones). All the neat apps and the internet convince folks to 'choose it.'

Past the method changing, nothing else has. Those who seek control will abuse it.

K2


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## .matthew. (Sep 21, 2020)

@-K2- Disturbing how deep these things go (link to an article full of ways they operate).



And that image is literally the basic method.


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## BigBadBob141 (Sep 23, 2020)

Would it be possible to repair brain damage using this tech?


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## Robert Zwilling (Oct 2, 2020)

Its always great science until it gets misapplied which can then be as bad as no science at all.


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## CupofJoe (Oct 2, 2020)

BigBadBob141 said:


> Would it be possible to repair brain damage using this tech?


I'm guessing not repair, but maybe bypass... I think they are already using mechanical/electronic bypasses for some with spinal damage. If it gives them enough movement to use a mouse or flick a switch, it could radically change a life...


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## -K2- (Oct 2, 2020)

BigBadBob141 said:


> Would it be possible to repair brain damage using this tech?



I'm not taking the chance (though lord knows I need it). Whether it might help or not, I've decided to cancel my colonoscopy.

No one's gonna' chip my brain 

K2


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## .matthew. (Oct 2, 2020)

-K2- said:


> I've decided to cancel my colonoscopy.
> 
> No one's gonna' chip my brain



How far up do you imagine they'd be going?


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## -K2- (Oct 2, 2020)

.matthew. said:


> How far up do you imagine they'd be going?



In my case--to get to the brain--not far. 

(or is 'their brain is in their rump, dumb/smart-azz,' not a thing where you are?)

K2


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## TheEndIsNigh (Oct 3, 2020)

-K2- said:


> In my case--to get to the brain--not far.
> 
> (or is 'their brain is in their rump, dumb/smart-azz,' not a thing where you are?)
> 
> K2



Ahhhh....

I see where the confusion could arise. Another "colonial" misunderstanding.

Maybe it's because we have had more time, being a more established, more sophisticated community.

You see, over here most of are  talking out of our arse so the phrase

"Dumb arse" just gives us Spock like puzzled raised eyebrows.


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## Wayne Mack (Oct 8, 2020)

-K2- said:


> a sewing-machine-like device that implants these electrodes into the brain's cortex."



A sewing machine? Why do I keep picturing a large room of women and children in rags doing brain surgery for gruel?


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## afton (Jan 2, 2021)

I'm wondering if device like this in the future would be useful in helping us to knock down our to-read list ;-)


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