The mysteries of neurotechnology - can the brain be used as a weapon?

DARPA has launched the development of a neural engineering system to research a technology that can turn soldiers into cyborgs

Despite the fact that the first representatives of the species Homo Sapiens appeared on Earth about 300,000 - 200,000 years ago, we managed to build a technologically advanced civilization. Today we are launching rockets and robotic vehicles into space, which furrow the surface of the worlds closest to us. But all these achievements were made possible by one organ hidden from our eyes - the human brain. It's no secret that even neuroscientists, as Professor Robert Sapolski writes about it in his book, do not fully understand how the brain works. But some successes have been achieved - remember the last presentation of Elon Musk's neuralinka? The device built directly into the pig's brain works great. Moreover, in recent years there have been brain implants that allow literally to translate brain waves into text. But if we are capable of inventing such high technology, is there a chance that someone will use them as a tool of mind control or even weapons?

What is "brain communication"?

What do you think the connection between one brain and another might look like? Not non-existent telepathy, but communication through a built-in brain implant? Neurobiologist Miguel Nicolelis answered this question in his study published in the journal Duke University earlier this year.

During the study, scientists in the lab placed two maca-resus in different rooms, where the animals looked at the computer screen, where there was an image of a virtual hand in a two-dimensional space. The monkeys' task was to guide the hand from the center of the screen to the target, and when they did so successfully, the researchers rewarded them with sips of juice. The monkeys were not equipped with joysticks or any other devices that could control the hand.

However, there is one interesting detail in this study - before the experiment, scientists injected monkeys into the brain of the implants - in those parts of their brain that affect movement. As a result, the electrodes were able to capture and transmit neural activity through a wired connection to computers. But even more interesting was the ability of animals to jointly control the digital limb.

Monkey "brain network" makes the prospect of connecting one human brain with another possible

The study's lead author, Miguel Nicolelis, calls this amazing collaboration a "brainet" or "brain network." Ultimately, the neuroscientist hopes that one brain's collaboration with another can be used to speed up rehabilitation in people with neurological damage - more precisely, that a healthy person's brain can work online with the brain of a stroke patient, who will then learn to speak or move a paralyzed part of the body faster.

This work is another success in a long line of recent advances in neurotechnology: interfaces applied to neurons, algorithms used to decode or stimulate these neurons, and brain maps that give a clearer picture of complex chains that control cognition, emotion, and action. Just imagine how useful such developments can be: it will be possible to create better prosthetic limbs that can convey sensations to those who wear them; it will be possible to better understand some diseases, such as Parkinson's disease, and even treat depression and many other mental disorders.

Possible future

Imagine computer systems attached to the brain tissue, allowing a paralyzed patient to control robotic devices by the power of thought. Agree, they can also be used to control bionic soldiers and manned aircraft. And devices that support patients' brains, such as Alzheimer's, can be used to instill new memories or remove existing ones, both in allies and enemies.

The brain is one of the greatest mysteries in the world

The paper, published in the journal, quotes bioethicist Jonathan Moreno, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, on the idea of Nikelis:

Imagine that we can take intellectual knowledge from, say, Henry Kissinger, who knows all about the history of diplomacy and politics, and then get all the knowledge from the person who has studied military strategy, from an engineer from the Department of Defense's Office of Advanced Studies (DARPA) and so on. All this can be combined. Such a brain network would allow important military decisions to be made on the basis of practical omniscience, and this would have serious political and

social consequences.

However, today such ideas remain in the field of science fiction, although it is possible that their appearance is a matter of time. At least that's what some experts think. The fact is that neurotechnology is rapidly developing, which means that in the end breakthrough opportunities will inevitably lead to their industrial implementation. For example, the Office of Advanced Research, which conducts important scientific and development work for the Ministry of Defence, invests a lot of money in brain technology.

The question is not whether or not non-state agents will be able to use certain neurobiological methods and technologies.

Neuroethics specialist at Georgetown University Medical Center James Giord.

People have long been captivated and horrified by the idea of the management of consciousness. Perhaps it is too early to fear the worst - for example, that the state will be able to penetrate the human brain by hacking methods. However, dual-use neurotechnology has great potential, and their time is just around the corner. Some ethics experts are concerned that, in the absence of legal mechanisms for regulating such technologies, laboratory research will be able to move easily into the real world.

Field of Mind

The desire to better understand the brain, which is probably the most understudied human organ, over the past 10 years has led to a rapid growth in innovation in neurotechnology. In 2005, for example, a group of scientists announced that it had been able to read human thoughts using functional magnetic resonance imaging, which measures blood flow caused by brain activity. During the experiment, the subject lay motionless in the growth scanner and looked at a small screen, which projected simple visual signals of arousal - a random sequence of lines of different directions, partially vertical, partly horizontal and partially diagonal. The direction of each line caused slightly different bursts of brain function. Just by looking at this activity, the scientists could determine which of the lines the subject was looking at.

Of course, no matter how incredible recent inventions may seem, neurotechnology is now in its infancy

It took only six years to significantly develop this brain-deciphering technology - not without the help of Silicon Valley. The University of California, Berkeley conducted a series of experiments. For example, during a 2011 study, participants were asked to watch movie announcements in a functional magnetic resonance imaging scanner, and scientists used brain reaction data to create decryption algorithms for each subject. They then recorded nerve cell activity when participants watched different scenes from new films, such as an excerpt in which Steve Martin walks around the room. Based on the algorithms of each test, the researchers later managed to recreate this very scene using only data from brain activity. These supernatural results are not very visually realistic; they are like the creation of the Impressionists: the vague Steve Martin floats on a surreal, ever-changing background.

Based on the findings, Thomas Naselaris, a neuroscientist at the Medical University of South Carolina, said, "The ability to do things like mind-reading will sooner or later appear. This will be possible in our lifetime."

This work is accelerated by the fast-paced technology responsible for the brain-machine interface - neural implants and computers that read the brain's activity and transfer it into real-world action, or vice versa. They stimulate neurons to create representations or physical movements.

Just eight years later, the brain-machine interface has become much more complex and sophisticated, as the World Cup in Brazil showed in 2014. Giuliano Pinto, 29, who was completely paralyzed in the lower body, put on a brain-controlled robotic exoskeleton developed at Duke University to make the first kick on the ball at the opening ceremony in Sao Paulo. Pinto's helmet on his head was receiving signals from his brain, indicating the man's intention to hit the ball. Attached to Pinto's back, the computer, having received these signals, launched a robotic suit to perform the command of the brain. Agree, to some extent the future is already here.