Journal: 7/14

Yesterdays speech presented several ethical concerns about both mind control and mind reading. The research which he is showing, while still in the early stages and require invasive surgery to enact, has opened a can of worms. I think that if this type of research ever becomes extremely accurate and can be done without the persons consent, it creates possibilities for new types of spying and population control, similar to what we see in 1984.

My only previous experience with mind-reading technology was when I saw a video of UCSF researchers putting a helmet on participants and allowing them to move an object on a screen with their head. When I compared to this to when the monkey was shown having their hand movements accurately read in real time, the pace at which neuroscience has developed in the past few years put me to sleep and showed me how quickly these new systems might change our society in the coming decades.

Seeing how the rat was forced to run in circles also challenged my perception of free will. If people can be forced to do tasks without their consent or knowledge, how will people be held responsible for crimes or be safe from mass slavery? Seeing that this technology has already begun being researched by professors like Dr. Yang has sent the ball rolling, and this could cause seismic shifts in our society for the worse.