Mind Control!

I’ve got one nitpick with the article. Or, at any rate, one right now. We’ll see if I find more. 😉

The title for the article is:

The Army’s Totally Serious Mind-Control Project

But if you read the article, they’re talking about the experiment/device/thingamajummy as a way to communicate, not control. Sensational titles can attract readers, it’s true, but if the device that’s being created is not about control, don’t bill it as control unless you care that there will be many who will misunderstand what the article is about.

And if there is a control aspect to the device, that leads to a whole heap of other questions, like who, then, would be held responsible if a controlled person committed murder, let’s say. Yeah, major moral conundrums, methinks. 🙂

And then there’s this little tid-bit:

Users also will have to be trained to think loudly.

I, apparently, already have that skill. I say this with all seriousness. There are those around me who can pick up my thoughts very easily because they can almost hear them. True, I’ve got a loud voice anyway, as do all my sibs – we can be heard from a couple of miles away when we want to be, truth be told. Evidently this also translates to thought. 😀

But back to the article. 🙂

From my read, it looks more like they’re talking about a built-in communications device for more efficient communication. And that has all sorts of interesting possibilities. Instant communication between user and computer? GPS readouts in the brain. How about covert ops? What about communications between a scientist and a lab rat?

And this bit:

And don’t overlook potential civilian benefits. "How often have you been annoyed by people screaming into their cell phones?" Schmeisser asks. "What if instead of their Bluetooth earpiece it was a Bluetooth headpiece and their mouth is shut and there’s blessed silence all around you?" Sounds like one of those rare slices of the U.S. military budget even pacifists might support.

Ah, yes, blessed silence. That, I could definitely get behind. 🙂

What else can you come up with? How would you use technology like this in your stories? What other kinds of technology will technology like this lead to in 10, 20 or 50 years?