"Those operations were carried out by physicians who were too eager to act." ![]() "They created an unknown number of human vegetables," he says. As is typically the case in sci-fi movies, a scientist warns of the disaster early in the story by comparing the implants to the lobotomies of the 1940s and 1950s. While the operation initially seems to be a success, things go awry when sustained exposure to the chip sends him on a psychotic rampage. In the 1974 film "The Terminal Man," a man gets an invasive brain implant to help with his seizures. From science fiction to a billion-dollar industry Before we reach the point where people are lining up to get a smartphone implanted in their brain, it's important to grapple with their dangers and unique ethical pitfalls. People using BCIs can feel a profound sense of dependency on the devices, or as though their sense of self has been altered. ![]() Intervening in the delicate operation of a human brain is a sticky business, and the effects are not always desirable or intended. The question is what kinds of changes does it cause, and how much do those changes matter?" As Anna Wexler, an assistant professor of philosophy in the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, put it: "Of course it causes changes. While these technologies are still in their infancy, they've been around long enough for researchers to increasingly get a sense of how neural implants interact with our minds. Other researchers have been looking into using BCIs to restore lost senses and control prosthetic limbs, among other applications. Musk's company is far from the only group working on brain-computer interfaces, or systems to facilitate direct communication between human brains and external computers. ![]() Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.
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