Mind Control in the 21st Century

The lead scientist added that “one day,” though of course a “long way off,” disembodied brains might actually be used to fly drones, though the current experiment was merely to enhance knowledge of how the brain works, and possibly provide “clues to brain dysfunction.”

2. In August 2013, researchers revealed that “miniature” human brains had been grown in the laboratory. As is typical, any negative implications or reasons for worry were minimized, while possible “therapeutic” uses were highlighted. Thus, the breakthrough was hailed as a great opportunity to understand “developmental defects.” Though the writer does mention “the spectre of what the future might hold,” the reader is reassured that the research is “primitive territory”—though one researcher did comment on the “undesirability” of growing larger laboratory brains.

3. On July 1, 2013, a magazine reported a claim by neuroscientist Sergio Canavero that it was now feasible to transplant the head of one human to the body of another and reattach the spinal cord.

4. Scientists have reconstructed random images viewed by subjects, from fMRI brain scans, in research that “hints” that “one day” scientists might be able to “access dreams, memories and imagery….”

5. The brains of two rats have been linked, such that one, located in North Carolina, responded “telepathically” to the thoughts of the other, located in Brazil. The second rat’s brain processed signals from the first rat’s brain, delivered over the internet, as if they were its own. The scientist speculated about the “future possibility” of a “biological computer, in which numerous brains are connected….”

6. A brain-to-brain interface has been created, allowing humans to move a rat’s tail just by thinking about it. Readers are told that while it is not yet possible to “communicate brain to brain with our fellow humans … we may be on our way to … controlling” other species. But, since it is “still very early days” the writer “hope(s)” that any ethical concerns can be “iron(ed) out.” Of note, the study used focused ultrasound to deliver impulses to the rat’s brain.

7. Continuing the ultrasound “theme”: Focused pulses of low intensity low frequency ultrasound, transmitted noninvasively through the skull to the human brain, have been shown capable of producing, not only pain, but also sound, as well as evoking “sensory stimuli.” Accordingly, a lab with a “close working relationship” with DARPA, the Department of Defense, and U.S. Intelligence communities, has been looking into using pulsed ultrasound to encode “sensory data onto the cortex”; in other words, producing hallucinations through the remote and direct stimulation of brain circuits. Possibilities are the ability to “remotely control brain activity” and the “creation of artificial memories.” Even Sony has gotten in on the act, patenting a device for using ultrasound to produce hallucinations—again described as “transmitting sensory data directly into the human brain.” Most troublingly, one source recently alleged that the NSA is using this ultrasound technology to target individuals through their smartphones.

8. A researcher was able to make a fellow researcher in a different office move his finger just by thinking about it, in the “first” demonstration of a human brain-to-brain interface.

9. A low cost means of tracking people, even through walls, has been developed. While in the past individuals could be tracked anywhere by the “military” using radar technology, this technology might enable entities with fewer resources to track people as well.

10. Scientists have remote controlled a worm by implanting magnetic nanoparticles into it, and then exposing the animal to a “radiofrequency magnetic field” which stimulated its neurons. The scientists suggest that their research could lead to “innovative cancer treatments” and “improved diabetes therapies,” as well as

11. Americans can now be spied on in their homes through their internet-connected appliances, according to (former) CIA Director David Petraeus.

Petraeus made his statements at about the same time a huge microchip company, ARM, unveiled new processors which will connect home appliances such as refrigerators, washers and driers to the internet.

12. LED lights have been ostensibly pushed for their efficiency over traditional bulbs. However, LED lights are also semiconductors capable of inducing “biological and behavior effects.”