Mind Control Technology May Not Be So Far Fetched For The US Military

Despite the benevolent intentions in the testing of brain-computer interfaces, this sort of thing has ethicists cautious. The concept of brain-computer interface technology helping a patient with severe ALS speak to their family isn't a difficult one to support, but using the same technology to control overseas missiles or eradicate the fear, anxiety, or uncertainty in a solider carrying out a combat mission is a very different story. The potential price to pay in mental health and moral standing is only one side of the coin, too. A chilling idea proposed by The Conversation adds that widespread brain-computer interface use could spawn a new field of brain hacking — leading to thought theft and behavioral hijacking.

The argument is complex. United States soldiers could be using devices in their brains to communicate with one another and their commanders by 2050, The Conversation reports — but where will the boundaries of thought sharing lie, and will participation be required? The bioethicists and neuroscientists who authored The Conversation's piece point out that, from a certain point of view, brain-computer interface technology is no morally different from other brain-altering practices like the ingestion of caffeine. But on the other hand, caffeine is not used by a powerful military — already the most powerful in the world (via Statista), unsettling sci-fi hive mind technology aside — to be successful in combat and wars. 

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