Why would the average person choose a brain implant over a skullcap? (lemm.ee)

submitted 9 months ago by Lemmeenym@lemm.ee to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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In the future direct interfacing between the brain and technology seems likely. The rudimentary technology has already been demonstrated and Musk's company is working on an implant meant to be a commercial product. My question is about how you see the interface eventually working. In particular I am curious about what the advantage of an implant is.

From the demonstrations I've seen things like typing, moving cursors, ect can be achieved with sensors applied to the body externally like an fmri skullcap or a neckband that reads vibrations in the vocal cords. External sensors are much safer to apply than a brain implant, they can be replaced much more easily if they malfunction, and they can be upgraded. I have read an article that said there are advantages to implants for people with medical issues like paralysis because the implant can offer feedback providing a more "normal" experience and interacting with specific nerves gives more precise control and less lag time. For medical applications like restoring lost function that makes the risk of surgery make sense. For the average person what advantages do implants offer over external sensors that make the risks of brain surgery worth it?

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[-] andrew_bidlaw@sh.itjust.works 3 points 9 months ago

Probably more purity of inputs, more data, more reliability.

I myself prefer cords over wireless for that. And I'm not a fan of brain implants because it limits the room for what you can get. I prefer Matrix-style neck connectors that you can attach to other hardware. Like Apple Vision with their attachable batteries - it's stupid to put everything in one place when this place is already full and you have another surgery just to update it.

But I'm just as afraid as others if there's Musk on the board, it would be a proprietary and unsafe solution.

For why i'm open to mod my body and brain: it's weak, it gets ill a lot, it ages, and I want to solve many problems people have with hi-tech prosthetics, and probably tackle some new opportunities of how to become more productive and capable. Transhumanism is an old thing at this point, and it's bad it attacked by both rich piggies monopolyzing it and bigots deciding what surgery is moral in their holy book without actual expertise. I would love to control my house and my workplace without even gestures and explore whatever I can learn\invent on top of that. Like would 3D sculping with my fingers work precise enough to be production ready? Would watching TV in my eyes work for me or the lack of ability to turn eyes to the side would become a downside? Would a universal translator worth it more than learning languages for my cognitive development and health? I want to play with that stuff knowing how it's dangerous and how it can fuck me up. It's just, like with Windows - I'm afraid I'd not be the one responsible for troubles. Having seizures and irreversible brain rot due to the virus acting as an admin or a broken automatical update? Fuck that shit.

this post was submitted on 09 Mar 2024

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