57R34M #286

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As neural engineering becomes more complex and more widespread, the potential for security breaches will mushroom.

For example, the next generation of implantable devices to control prosthetic limbs will likely include wireless controls that allow physicians to remotely adjust settings on the machine. If neural engineers don’t build in security features such as encryption and access control, an attacker could hijack the device and take over the robotic limb.

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In some cases, patients might even want to hack into their own neural device. Unlike devices to control prosthetic limbs, which still use wires, many deep brain stimulators already rely on wireless signals. Hacking into these devices could enable patients to “self-prescribe” elevated moods or pain relief by increasing the activity of the brain’s reward centers.

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“ We now inhabit a world where knowing something is possible is practically the same as knowing how to do it. […] The formerly rare occurrence of technology jumping off the page and into the world (Heinlein’s waterbeds, Clarke’s geosynchronous orbits) are about to become a lot more common. ”

“ We now hear the richness of vinyl records because we can compare them to CDs. In the same way, the digital camera’s crisp, clean images help us recognize the complexity and warmth of film. It’s exacerbated when you shoot through a plastic lens like the one on our fly. We do not always want a faithful representation of reality. Sometimes we yearn for a dream. ”

“ I’m just misusing an existing technology. The inventor of the Nintendo Game Boy, Gunpei Yokoi, had an interesting theory about how there is power in “lateral thinking of withered technology.” What he meant was that a lot of possibilities would open up by using common technologies in new, radical ways. Opening up new potentials for mundane technologies is something I aim for in my work. ”