Is the Future among us?

"If you could have one superpower, what would it be?"

As children, I remember multiple times my friends and I would list abilities that we wished we could have. The ability to fly, breath underwater, telekinesis and telepathy- we would list all of these abilities with the hope that someday they would magically appear. Now, it seems, that one of these abilities could become a reality and we don't have to undergo nuclear radiation or be bitten by a mutant spider to obtain them.

Elon Musk. His name seems to be everywhere. From promoting Cryptocurrencies to colonizing the next world that humans may call home one day. Now, Elon is attempting to achieve many people's childhood dream. Telepathy.

The definition of telepathy (According to Google.com) is the supposed communication of thoughts or ideas by means other than the known senses.

"Other than the known senses" which would be body language, sign language and of course the ability of speech. The idea of communication being achievable with just a thought seems too sci-fi inspired to be real. When I was a child I thought that telepathy would be a gift or ability obtained by a means of a miracle; I never imagined that we could achieve telepathy by means of technology.

Enter Neuralink. Neuralink is a company owned by Elon Musk that is developing the N1 Neuralink Chip. Neuralink's purpose is to make communication through text and voice messages not only possible between humans but also to computers by the power of thought. Neuralink will also have the ability to take pictures and draw among other capabilities.

At first, the idea of this sounds extremely scary. The first thought that comes to my mind is the 1999 movie, "Universal Soldier: The Return", a movie where a military computer program takes over a human's body and is also able to control other human soldiers due to computer chips implanted in their body. Once we are able to move past the possibility of that idea, a door opens to a whole world of possibilities. Humans would be able to communicate without the use of phones or other electronics. In a thought, we could send a message or call to one another and we could even control other computers near us. We would have the ability of telepathy- "communication of thoughts or ideas by means other than the known senses".

Not only would we be able to achieve our childhood superhero dreams to an extent, this technology offers an immense opportunity to those whom are disabled. It is a possibility that people whom are born or have become paralyzed and have lost the ability to communicate would be able to do so again through Neuralink. Once the chip is implanted, patients would be able to contact smart devices and could theoretically text faster than a person holding a phone in their hands by using their thoughts alone.

The N1 Neuralink Chip will be implanted into the human brain by robots. The fibers needed to integrate the brain are so small and fragile that a human surgeon would not be able to manipulate the threads by hand. These fibers are what absorb electric activity in our brains and tell the chip what to do. Once the chip is implanted in the back of the brain and healing is completed, the chip will be ready to use and be compatible with all smart devices. The process will eventually be the same as telling our arm to move or, as I'm doing right now, instructing my fingers which keys to press to write this sentence.

For members of society who believe in the possibilities of technology expanding the capabilities of humanity- this project seems like an amazing opportunity. To others who are a bit more skeptical, this seems like a very bad idea that could one day inhibit individuals because of the information gathered by the chip in our brains- such as bad health habits.

Let's all hope that we don't end up like the Primes on the hit show, 'The 100' or worse, stuck in a world similar to 'Sword Art Online'.

What do you think? Will you take the step to become a futuristic cyborg or is science taking technology too far?

Neuralink will be available this year, 2022, for implantation.