CHOOSE TO SHINE

Mind control. What is the first thing you imagine when you see that phrase? Do you picture sinister people who condition and manipulate unsuspecting victims, like in the MKUltra experiments the CIA ran until 1972? Perhaps you think of a Superbowl commercial. There is a reason why they cost over 5 million dollars for only half a minute. Do you envision a cult that controls vulnerable teenagers?

If you ask Elon Musk, the world-famous inventor and entrepreneur behind Tesla, Boring, Hyperloop, Open AI, and Space-X, he would offer a different answer. Musk founded Neuralink in 2016 to explore the possibility of interfacing the human brain with a computer. This is not science fiction. It only took two years for Musk to advance the science forty-fold. He created a tiny chip, called the N1 Sensor, which connects to strands 1/10th as wide as a human hair. Neuralink created a surgical robot that can implant these strands into the human brain through a tiny incision. These tiny fibers contain hundreds of electrodes which can sense when neurons fire. 

The system uses Bluetooth to connect with the user’s cellphone.  Using sophisticated algorithms, an app can process all of the data in real time and read the signals that the brain transmits. These can include thoughts of motor control, seeing, hearing, and even thinking. It can even be used to cause neurons to fire and generate brain activity. The possibilities to help humanity are endless. 

Are you familiar with cochlear implants? These have been helping deaf people hear since they were first introduced in 1957. It was an early implementation of directly stimulating the auditory nerve. What if we could bypass the eyes and stimulate the optic nerve of a blind person to see? What if someone with a spinal cord injury could use the N1 to transmit thoughts of movement, and a receiver near each arm or leg could trigger that very same movement?

Humans currently interface with computers using screens and keyboards. What if we could control computers using our minds alone? Then again, if this chip can fire our neurons, what prevents a hacker from taking control of a human who has such an implant? Is that so difficult to imagine? This is especially true if technology advances far enough to interpret thoughts. Is it such a stretch to think that ideas can be artificially created? Would a person still be responsible for their actions? Does the Torah weigh in on such a scenario? Does the Torah have any expectations with regard to what we think?

The famous passage in the Torah (Numbers 15:39) warns us against following our hearts and eyes to go astray. Even the last of the Ten Commandments forbids coveting that which your neighbor has. There are also six concepts that we must remember daily. The Torah clearly requires us to manage our own conscious thinking, and not to dwell on those musings which can lead us off-track. Further, anyone familiar with Maimonides’ Thirteen Principles of Faith knows that we believe with complete conviction that these concepts are true. What are beliefs if not rooted in thinking? It is clear that we are enjoined to control what happens within our minds.

As for our hypothetical mind hacker, consider a similar scenario where thinking is affected by others. With the deluge of media, online and off, and the assault of constant advertising on our collective psyche, do we stand a chance of thinking for ourselves? Highly skilled advertising, marketing, and branding experts constantly think of new ways to manipulate our behavior. They want us to think of their brand when we reach for a Coke, a Kleenex, or a Band-Aid. It becomes second nature to pay more for a branded product, even if a generic product of equal quality would cost less.  How much control do we truly have?

The answer lies in what we do to prepare ourselves for how to react to the unbidden stimuli. Do we make a conscious choice to proactively control ourselves, or do we just let things happen? The Torah expects us to think and act in a proscribed manner, regardless of whatever threatens to send us off-course.