Analysis. If someone told you they had a miracle product that could dramatically increase your memory, eliminate the need for studying, and enable you to download entire books into your brain without reading, would you be willing to try it out? What if this same device allowed you to communicate with thoughts rather than through phones or spoken words? In fact, what if this new high-tech invention could even delete traumatic memories from your brain, replacing them with pleasant ones? While some people would proceed with caution, it’s probable to assume that large numbers would step right up to try out this new innovation which aims to transform the human mind.

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While the above scenario may seem far-fetched, it’s actually a reality to scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs who foresee brain implants (BMIs) as a game changer for humanity. MakeUseOf, one of the largest online technology publications, explains, “Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs), also known as brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), are devices that bridge your brain and an external device. They can read human brain activity and communicate that information directly to a computer system. For instance, a BMI could help a patient control a robotic prosthesis. Or, it could enable the user to type into a word processor using only their thoughts.”

Miguel Nicolelis, a renowned Professor of Neurobiology who is known for his pioneering studies using BMIs (brain machine interfaces), has said, “Eventually brain implants will become as common as heart implants. I have no doubt about that.” Nikolas Kairinos, an artificial intelligence expert with a passion for neuroscience, believes that in the next 20 years, we will “likely have implants put into our heads that allow us to learn everything. You won’t need to memorize anything.” He also claims that “brain implants will mean that there will be no need to Google anything, as the answers will simply pop in your head.” Elaborating further, he says that without using words, or typing anything on a phone or computer, you can ask something like “How do you say this in French?” Instantly, the AI implant will provide the information and you will be able to say it with the correct pronunciation. He adds, “Google will be in your head and that’s not far-fetched. It’ll be like having a really smart assistant that will almost think like you.”

Though this technology is not ready to be unleashed upon the public just yet, the rungs of the ladder are being built one by one, with each step leading to a future where brain implants may create what Elon Musk calls “symbiosis” with human brains and artificial intelligence.

A grand vision of implants residing in the brains of every human on planet Earth is what motivates tech geniuses like Musk, who argues that rather than trying to beat machines, we should join them. The goal is to live in harmony with AI while augmenting existing abilities, and eliminating debilitating conditions such as paralysis or blindness.

Musk’s dream is getting closer to being realized because in May 2023, his health tech venture, Neuralink received FDA clearance for its first-in-human clinical trial. At a Paris VivaTech event, Musk stated that he plans to implant a tetraplegic or paraplegic patient during a webcast monitored by Reuters. He hopes to start  human trials later this year, but did not comment on how many participants will be allowed. Neuralink’s website contains a patient registry for anyone interested in learning whether they may qualify for a trial that will primarily focus on those who suffer from quadriplegia, paraplegia, visual or hearing impairments, blindness, deafness, aphasia or speech impairments.

The Neuralink system “works by letting a sewing machine-like robot surgically insert a microchip inside the brain. It removes a small chunk of the skull, connects the thread-like electrodes to target regions of the brain, and stiches up the hole, leaving only a scar. The microchip then interprets brain signals and relays information to computers via Bluetooth.” Elon Musk boasts that the whole procedure of inserting a quarter-size implant takes as little as 30 minutes and does not require anesthesia. Patients can be discharged on the same day. At a Neuralink Show and Tell event in California last year, he commented, “You could have a Neuralink device implanted right now and you wouldn’t even know.”

An April 11, 2023 a post on Neuralink’s Twitter account stated “Our thin, flexible threads are a few blood cells wide, minimizing the brain’s response to them. We use scanning electron microscopy to verify process control, understand defects and sometimes take glamour shots.”

The current goal of the Neuralink implant is to allow a person to control a computer or a phone using only brain activity. Previously, Musk has tested the device on monkeys and pigs. A video was released in 2021 which shows a monkey playing Pong with its brain. Another video features a monkey using its brain to type a message. A third video shows a monkey charging its brain implant by sitting under a wireless charger. In contrast, humans could use a nightcap or baseball cap to charge their device.

While so far Neuralink is focusing on patients with certain disabilities, the long-term goal is much broader and will likely involve healthy populations. On July 19, 2020 computer scientist Austin Howard asked Musk if humans would one day be able to stream music directly to the brain (without earphones) via a BMI (brain machine interface), to which Musk replied, “Yes.” Additionally, Musk has stated that his implants may be able to stimulate the release of oxytocin or serotonin which are tied to feelings of happiness or euphoria. He compares the device to a Fitbit inside the head where “users can connect the device to their smartphone via Bluetooth and read the data coming from the brain.”

Neuralink isn’t the only company in the brain chip arms race. Companies such as Blackrock Neurotech, Paradromics, BrainGate, ClearPoint Neuro, Syncron, Neurable, and Mind X are working on their own wearables or implants to treat everything from blindness and epilepsy to anxiety and depression. Some hope to implant brain chips via the bloodstream and thus eliminate the need for surgery. For some of these companies, brain tech is nothing new. Blackrock Neurotech, for example, has been testing on human patients for over 20 years.

DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), which is part of U.S. Department of Defense, has its own program called the Brain Initiative which explores BMIs and is supported by several federal agencies such as the FDA and NIH. Projects include electrical prescriptions, brain mapping, memory recall and enhancement, nonsurgical neurotechnology, as well as brain stimulation to alleviate PTSD and substance abuse and addiction in soldiers. One of their latest projects, known as AI Forward involves artificial intelligence and national security. A few of DARPA’s more controversial projects include thought-controlling weapons, infrared beams, speed learning, and mind reading systems. Genetic engineering of the human brain by inserting DNA into neurons is another ground-breaking venture.

Perhaps the biggest frontier for brain implants is the arena of memories, dreams and mind hacking. Moran Cerf, a neuroscience professor at Northwestern University, discusses this subject at length, suggesting that one day humans will be able to “buy their dreams.” He believes that putting ideas into a person’s brain via dreams will influence the way a person behaves in their day-to-day life. In essence, dream control will help your life fall in alignment with the created dream. He speculates that companies such as Netflix, Hulu or Amazon could download this content directly into your brain.

Steve Hoffman, a Silicon Valley tech expert and CEO of Founders Space, spoke at a TEDx event in 2017 where he described the future of brain machine interfaces (BMIs).  He asserted, “We will have brain chips in humans and the brave people who will get those brain chips are people who suffer from severe medical conditions. So, if you have a severe medical condition, like you’re paralyzed from the neck down, or you suffer from a brain disorder like Alzheimer’s disease, or Parkinson’s disease and that brain chip can restore your quality of life, would you hesitate to get the chip? No, of course not. You would say, ‘Put the chip in my brain.”

Hoffman foresees brain chips being used not just for medical conditions, but within healthy populations around the globe. Citing rat studies where knowledge was instantly transferred from one animal to another he explains to his audience, “There will come a point where if we have a chip in our brain and you have a chip in your brain, we can communicate–we could communicate without talking–we could communicate when you’re halfway around the world and we can exchange knowledge. So, if you look at a world where we have these chips that are connected to the Internet, all of a sudden, every piece of information on the Internet becomes accessible to our minds…when we look back at today and we have to go to Google and type it in, that will seem so primitive–nobody will do that. You will just think ‘what knowledge do I need’ and it will appear there for you to use. But it gets even weirder because we will not only be able to transfer knowledge, but we will be able to transfer memories…you could have an experience like skydiving and all of a sudden you could transfer that experience to a friend and all of a sudden, they have experienced what you have experienced. It gets even weirder because we will be living our lives as our lives…but you will all of a sudden have access to anybody’s life who wants to make it available to you… we won’t know the difference between our own memories and a memory we acquired from someone else.”

Hoffman further speculates that in the future getting degrees could be obsolete because everything you need will be in the cloud. Therefore, you will simply download information from the best minds in the world. Universities will not be needed as information will be on demand and even commoditized. Humans will become smarter as they access infinite amounts of knowledge. In essence, Hoffman declares, “We will no longer be this isolated human being. We will be connected to everything.”

The long-term possibilities for brain implants are not only mind-boggling, but deeply troubling. While the promise of eradicating neurodegenerative disorders, paralysis, epilepsy, depression, deafness and blindness seems amazing, the unintended or intended consequences are sobering. Transhumanists like Yuval Noah Harari have stressed that the 21^st century is a transformative time where we are engineering bodies, brains and minds. Digital technologies and medical breakthroughs are enabling humans to be hacked, surveilled and controlled.

At the 2020 WEF Davos Annual Meeting, Harari spoke in detail about these dangers, especially digital dictatorships. He says, “Just imagine North Korea in twenty years, when everyone has to wear a biometric bracelet which constantly monitors your blood pressure, your heart rate and your brain activity twenty-four hours a day. You listen to a speech on the radio by the leader and they know what you actually feel. You can clap your hands and smile, but if you’re angry, they will know–you’ll be in the gulag tomorrow. And if we allow the emergence of such total surveillance regimes, don’t think that the rich and powerful in places like Davos will be safe…in Stalin’s USSR, the state monitored members of the communist elite more than anyone else. The same will be true of future surveillance regimes… so it is in the interest of all humans, including elites, to prevent the rise of digital dictatorships.”

In the 1950’s and 60’s CIA programs such as Operation Mockingbird and Project MK Ultra were utilized to experiment with mind control in humans. In the case of Project Mockingbird, purposeful propaganda was used to control information from TV, magazines, newspaper and media outlets. At that time, however, there were no brain chips available to be implanted into unsuspecting Americans in order to achieve total control.

Enthusiasts of brain chips are ecstatic about the idea of downloading infinite amounts of information. The question of course is, who controls that information? Will this unending flow of facts and data be free from bias? During the Covid pandemic, dissenting voices were flagged as “misinformation” while those who parroted the narrative were given unhindered freedom to share. In a brain-chip centered world, what kinds of ideas will be inserted into humanity’s thoughts and which ones will be deleted? With everyone connected to what some have called a “global brain,” will free speech even exist?

Just as computers and banking accounts can be hacked, so can the human brain if too much access is given to it. Moreover, implants could influence mood changes, behavior and even personalities. Neuroethicist Frederic Gilbert has worked with people who’ve used BMIs and notes that sometimes they’ve induced changes in personality, or even expression of sexuality. Some patients have reported feelings of not recognizing themselves, known as “estrangement.” In certain cases, the device appeared to supplant the person in the decision-making process and thus, they were kicked out of the loop.

The Bible has much to say when comes to our minds and brains. 2 Corinthians 10:5 clearly states that we must, take every thought captive to obey Christ. It doesn’t say “allow your thoughts to be captured by an implant, device, or ruling authority.” Additionally, Romans 12:2 states, Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, and by testing it, you may discern what is the will of God, what is good, acceptable and perfect. We cannot put our hopes for transformation and renewal in a man-made device that is controlled by sinful humans who could tweak and twist the truth.

Perhaps our biggest warning comes from Revelation 13:16-17 which describes the Antichrist. It causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.

While scholars argue on the exact nature and design of this future mark, one thing’s for certain–it will be used to control, monitor and punish people in the worst way possible. As we see the shadows of this future mark in our midst, it’s important we resist the temptation to jump on the bandwagon when the latest invention is released. As the scope of brain implant technology is constantly evolving, we should proceed with caution, asking the Lord to give us wisdom and discernment.

Lord Jesus, you have created our bodies, brains and minds. We ask for protection against implants, devices and innovations that could manipulate our thinking, behavior or personality. Please take all of our thoughts captive and heal our brains through the power of the Holy Spirit.

What do you think about the future of brain implants? How could they be used as a means of control?

Angela Rodriguez is an author, blogger and homeschooling Mom who studies the historical and biblical connections between Israel and the United States. You can visit her blogs at 67owls.com and 100trumpets.com. Her latest book, Psalm 91: Under the Wings of Jesus, was released in June 2021. Photo Credit: Canva.