Brain-computer interfaces could allow soldiers to control weapons with their thoughts and turn off their fear – but the ethics of neurotechnology lags behind the science
EDITOR’S NOTE: Technological innovation has spurred revolutions, and the military has played a key role in advancing technology’s potential. Notably, the armed forces invented the internet and radio– pretty much all telecommunication, as well as plastic surgery, satellites, undershirts and the Jeep. Those things are nice. However, if we relinquish control to technology to innovate ourselves, we are absolving self-control to that technology. Even with more rugged automobiles and iPhones, people are still capable of fighting their own wars and precluding the potential of computer-brain interfaces is the disintegration of a soldier’s humanity. If service members become machines, they will be as expendable as a machine.
Imagine that a soldier has a tiny computer device injected into their bloodstream that can be guided with a magnet to specific regions of their brain. With training, the soldier could then control weapon systems thousands of miles away using their thoughts alone. Embedding a similar type of computer in a soldier’s brain could suppress their fear and anxiety, allowing them to carry out combat missions more efficiently. Going one step further, a device equipped with an artificial intelligence system could directly control a soldier’s behavior by predicting what options they would choose in their current situation.
While these examples may sound like science fiction, the science to develop neurotechnologies like these is already in development. Brain-computer interfaces, or BCI, are technologies that decode and transmit brain signals to an external device to carry out a desired action. Basically, a user would only need to think about what they want to do, and a computer would do it for them.