World Unyielding

There’s a race that has largely gone unnoticed. The recruitment of volunteers for brain implants is currently underway at Neuralink, Elon Musk’s brain implant company. According to Musk himself, his overarching goal is to merge humans with artificial intelligence. While the emergence of Neuralink might be surprising to you and me, a lot has been happening behind the scenes for years. Now, it is entering mainstream attention, and there is no shortage of volunteer patients. Human testing is scheduled for 2024. Forget science fiction; brain implants are rapidly becoming science reality in the mainstream.

Exploring the integration of humanity and technology is a recurring theme for global thought leaders. The World Economic Forum, at its customary venue in Davos during 2020, hosted a discussion titled “When Humans Become Cyborgs.” From the outset, the moderator, Hiromi Ozaki, expressed an burning desire to become a cyborg. The concept of a cyborg has long remained in science fiction. It refers to a person with superhuman capabilities due to technological features incorporated into the body.

In the introductory segment of the same discussion, Illina Singh recounted her involvement in ongoing research and the emerging ethical issues. The military was presented as a major investor in technologies aimed at enhancing human capacities. Discussions on neural implants were commonplace in these circles, striking a chord with those contemplating the physical merging of humans and machines. Reservations about bodily integrity and data privacy, along with other ethical concerns, hardly restrain the passion among these thought leaders. The allure of having a retinal implant to enhance sight capabilities beyond normal seems overwhelming. If that doesn’t pique your interest, consider a cochlear implant that goes beyond the typical hearing aid, allowing you to hear across greater distances.

Implanted technology that aids the progress of medical treatment may be more acceptable to the average person. Preventing the physical deterioration of individuals certainly appears to be a benevolent endeavor. Consider the field of mental health, for instance. Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) involves the use of electrical pulses transmitted from a neural implant placed deep in the brain. This implant is utilized to target areas of the brain thought to be implicated in the medical condition being addressed. The regulation of specific brain areas through a neural implant attached to a pacemaker device has been reported as successful in treating tremors caused by Parkinson’s disease. Exploratory studies also suggest a strong potential for effectively treating conditions such as anorexia, epilepsy, and depression.

Transhumanism is an intellectual and philosophical movement that encapsulates the ambitions outlined thus far. Its aim is to explore the potential for enhancing human capabilities beyond their natural limitations. The principles of transhumanism largely align with the ambitions of today’s thought leaders. Optimism is placed on neural implants used to augment our cognitive abilities, physical capacities, and perhaps even our lifespans.

There is a dream that extends beyond this. People want to use their brains to directly shape the world around them. Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) serve as a bi-directional mode of communication between the brain and external devices. This enables a person to control machines with thoughts and receive sensory information through them. Essentially, the machinery becomes an extension of their person. For example, consider a person controlling a prosthetic limb with their mind. Perhaps that’s too tame for the transhumanist. Envision a multitude of people experiencing virtual reality directly through neural signals, with no need for a headset. Given enough hype, this could prompt a global paradigm shift in social interaction at the expense of brain privacy. But will we realize the true cost too late?

A sense of reassurance may be felt, knowing that concerns over bodily integrity are shared among researchers. On my part, that sense was short-lived since these concerns are so readily brushed off in the promotion of the perceived benefits for society. Victor Dzau spoke from a medical viewpoint on the discussion panel at the World Economic Forum. When addressing concerns over the risk of neural implants, he remarked, ‘It’s not the technology, it’s what we do with it and how we oversee it.’ However, it seems reasonable to suggest that both the technology and what we do with it pose a risk. This is not an unfamiliar thought in popular thinking. It has long been argued that nuclear power has intrinsic problems, not just problems resulting from its misuse.

The prospect of being physically connected to a computer or a machine as part of daily life seems ethically acceptable to many. Envision masses of tech enthusiasts enhancing their intellectual capabilities by being wired to the internet and using their brains to upload information. Their passion overrides any concerns about brain privacy. Finding people so willing to surrender their bodies to the advancement of technology is not difficult, as Elon Musk can confirm. There is no shortage of volunteers offering their bodies for the work of Neuralink. Elon Musk has significantly contributed to the development of neural implants and exploring their applications. As of 2020, those under his oversight were recognized as important contributors to the development of closed-loop systems, where the reading of brain activity and the input of information all occur in an implant without external wiring. This represents the gold standard set before us. It would eliminate the need for extensive surgery, making the technology more accessible and less imposing on the general public.

The prevailing voices today redefine fundamental realities that were once considered elementary, at least in societies rooted in Judeo-Christian values—realities of gender, marriage, and the sanctity of human life. If attempts have been made to redefine these, why not attempt to redefine what it even means to be human? Why not erode the dignity of the person to bolster efforts in technological advancement? Then, brain privacy becomes a mere afterthought, bodily autonomy is willingly surrendered, and personal accountability can be outsourced to whoever produces the best-performing neural implant.

A quest for pseudo-omniscience can be driven by technologies employed for brain surveillance, with no consideration for brain privacy. The autonomy of the person, as society understands it today, is compromised by bypassing volitional control (or perhaps the lack thereof) in favor of an external standard imposed on the individual. Accountability cannot be reliably traced when a person acts unexpectedly in response to implant technology. Is the BCI malfunctioning, or is the person at fault?

Perhaps a pessimistic mindset here is putting a damper on the progress made thus far in the field of neurotechnology. However, my approach is guided by age-old truths contained within God’s word. From the very beginning of humanity, we understand the reality of knowledge that can be pursued apart from God. That same knowledge may promise good things. Nevertheless, the futility of pursuing and hoping in knowledge apart from God will be exposed. Since the start, our first forefather decided to rebel against God’s command in the pursuit of knowledge. The false promise was and still is, “… you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:5b) The lie is still repeated today, “You will not surely die.” (Genesis 3:4b)

Humanity is enduring unnatural conditions under the sovereign rule of almighty God. God has declared a curse, and its effects are felt in the very fabric of our being. No wonder people seek refuge from the consequences of rebellion against God. The pursuit of an upgraded humanity aided by cutting-edge integrated technology, a cyborg if you will, is a vain endeavor among an assortment of efforts vying for our attention. Lengthened lifespans, improved physical capacities, and enhanced cognitive abilities may seem fairly innocent. However, these may only be the first wave of objectives.

Staunch transhumanists unashamedly broadcast their desire for digital immortality and triumph over the curse of death. God’s word is clear, stating, “… the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a). Investigating the work of such people will likely be the focus of future posts; yet, the consensus among them is set against the testimony of God. Digital immortality through uploading a person’s consciousness to a non-biological substrate to then build a collective consciousness is the hope shared among them. A place where physical limitations are not subject to biology but rather technology. Nevertheless, God has the final say.

If it is eternal life you want, then look no further than the eternal God who bestows eternal life freely to all those who trust in His Son, Jesus Christ. Trust in Him who was raised from the dead, having made an acceptable sacrifice for the sin and rebellion of many. Raised indestructible from the grave, Jesus’ body is a sample of those promised to all who follow him. Never will human knowledge engineer something to match the resurrected bodies of forgiven sinners. Have all the implants you can garner, and you will not come close. Even the seemingly benevolent results of applying neural implants and BCIs to needy people will only achieve a fraction of what Jesus performed in healing multitudes as He walked the earth 2000 years ago. It did not take Him years of research but simply a moment to heal a person, body and mind.

The cause of transhumanists and their allies is essentially a battle against the inevitable. It is a counterfeit of what can be obtained in Christ by God’s grace—an eternal life rid of the disease and bodily breakdown that limits us today. But here’s the caveat: that life must be surrendered in service to the Creator of all. I expect themes outlined here will be recurring in future events, thereby permitting us to reconsider these global trends more deeply.