To begin an article with the word “Hark," might be too archaic, but I know of no other word that is as serious and as commanding as it; used to plead for attention to an important issue in a single word that foregoes the need for begging.

Hark! I write then to you with the ardent hope that I can bring recognition to the danger that comes to steal away that which had been since the beginning of time – invincible and immortally yours: your dreams and hopes and intents and reason and the secrets born in your inner fortress are threatened by the possible misuse of brain-computer-interface devices pioneered by the company Nuralink – and likely other devices that will be made by competitors in the future.

To play the devil: not all uses would be for evil. Indeed, how novel would it be to be able to place miniature wires into the brain of a person who has been locked inside themselves, unable to move and interact with the world, but who can hear and see – and then to connect their brain to some sort of exo-skeleton that would allow them motor movement? Or for someone who was entirely born without arms, but via the chip-implant into their brain it could connect with robotic arms and allow them a range of motion that would be unparalleled against today's prosthetics.

These are many of the reasons I see in support of such a product. I do say that such technology should be used to aid those who choose it to overcome the issues around their health, but I also come to you as a student of philosophy – nay, a student of humanity, and a lover of the freedom of my mind that can, no matter what tyranny does to me, keep me free forever.

Some of the greatest Greek philosophers: Epictitus, Socrates, and even my man, the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius all write about the “Inner Fortress," of the self – a place inside each and every person where they can retreat to and reflect in. Every person since the inception of our species has been blessed with this freedom: to be able to disagree with a tyrant in front of you and hold your opinions to yourself. Free speech is a right granted by the government. Lo, but as things like the Nuralink implant near the market – made to read your brain’s impulses and commands – your thoughts will eventually no longer be safe.

 We, the people, will have to make our inner thoughts safe by law, and that statement dear reader, is the craziest thing I have ever written.

Imagine then a world in which a tyrant gets into office, and writes into law that they can attach one of the chips being developed against your skull to see if you committed a crime. That crime which was committed they also recently wrote into law. No need for the profession of lawyers at all. Who needs lawyers if the chip implanted in your brain can prove intent to commit a crime? 

Capitol Technology University reports that one-thousand and twenty-four electrodes on flexible threads are implanted in the brain and record the activity of neurons, which send signals “all over the body to drive nearly all human function.” What if those threads are changed to not receive signals, but to send them? In the short term, I believe that this technology will work as a far better lie-detector machine, but long term? Sky's the limit as we learn how to interface better with the signals and impulses of the brain.

We, humans, are not perfect and I wouldn't, even in my love of them, suppose any are so, (sorry dad, ha!). I would posit however, that of many of the bad mistakes any of us have made when we were younger, those mistakes deserve to stay in that fortress of our mind. I am no longer the person I was when I was a child and to this day, I find myself apologizing to people who knew me when I was younger.

And our dreams should stay our own, without anyone being able to see that which all other humans have since the beginning of time, have been able to keep secret in the vaulted summits of our minds… except for our children as they enter into a world that some of us will never get to see: a world which we leave them and if we do not secure the dangers that are birthed by our pursuit of money and improvement in living standards, they shall suffer the consequences. As technology evolves and we as humans approach a world in which our minds are further integrated into technology – it should be so that it cannot be done without our express consent and deep consideration.

Hark, dear reader: as people approach a world in which our minds are connected to computers and virtual reality goggles are placed over our eyes, I do wonder after our future.

Austin Petak is an aspiring novelist and freelance journalist who loves seeking stories and the quiet passions of the soul. If you are interested in reaching out to him to cover a story, you may find him at austinpetak@gmail.com.

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