Neuralink Brain Chip: The Unseen Problem

Black Mirror: Season 1 Ep. 3 "The Entire History Of You"

In 20 years, cloning may be possible. In 20 years, telepathy may be possible. We could watch movies in our head, we could be able to have photographic memory. But at what cost? This isn’t magic, and superpowers aren’t going to be suddenly developed. This is due to a new technology that has been worked on that puts computer chips in our brain. These chips can allow you to surpass every natural limit as a human being, but the corporations that create them are using them for a different purpose.

In a world where iPhones are dominating our lives and we have a smart everything, smart watch, smart phone, smart speaker, and smart TV, the only thing that we have left are smart people. Regular people who are enhanced to be a part of an ecosystem that thrives on everything being connected. I am one of the people who has all of these smart devices, and wonder that when everyone has these brain chips and becomes smarter people, will I be the one left behind because I don’t want one?

“There’s a little number fudging here because these are just rough calculations, but let’s say the total cost of the implant without insurance is $3,000.” said Elon Musk, the founder of Neuralink in an interview about the new chip. We see that this product is extremely high tech and immediately assume that there will be no way for us to afford it. That’s what we have been told in sci-fi movies and TV shows. What those shows leave out however, is the most money these companies will make will be from working class and poor people, because we are the 99%. If, like the iPhone, companies can find a way to get us on a payment plan for this chip, they can keep us in a cycle of debt like they are doing right now.

However, this time the cycle will be different. Who is to say they won’t turn off your legs if you don’t make your monthly brain chip bill? What’s stopping them from taking away your ability to see if you miss 3 months? How will you prevent them from shutting you down completely if you aren’t able to pay at all? These questions and many more swirl through my head as I wonder how far this technology will take us, and how close to the present it really is.