When I penned the original draft of Inherit the Stars back in 2009, I envisioned a future where, not computers, but the human brain would operate prototype ships, tactical drones and biodroids (biological androids) via a neuro-connective direct link device. And with proper training and experience, a person could develop the ability to do all of these things...simultaneously!
After all, why build a machine to mimic the human mind if the mind can be trained and tapped to do it better, and without removing the human equations of sympathy and the differentiation of right and wrong.
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According to a July 17, 2018 article by Jack Corrigan on Nextgov.com, "The Defense Department’s research arm is working on a project that connects human operators’ brains to the systems they’re controlling—and vice versa."
DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) is working to develop this neural interface that would allow personnel to connect to tech devices via brainwave activity. The end result would be to allow people to control technology as seamlessly as if they were operating a body part. In Inherit the Stars, this idea is introduced by way of Con-Drive, short for neural-connective drive.
In reality, this program has been dubbed Next-Generation Non-Surgical Neurotechnology, or N3, but it's exploring two different paths--non-invasion systems that are completely outside the body (ala the tech in my books) and a "minutely invasive" process wherein the individual must consume certain chemicals so that external sensors can read their brainwave activity.
In the very near future (if not already), such technology might help a 'mind pilot' operate an entire fleet of drones or robots for surveillance or tactical situations. Take that same concept and project it fifteen hundred years into the fictional future, and it may ring a few bells for my readers. A character developing the prowess to control a flotilla of multi-purpose tactical drones, operate a number of biological androids, and operate and pilot a prototype starship--all at the same time? Check and double check.
The rare prototype ships in my series represent various stages of the evolution of this technology, so have different levels and methods of connectiveness. Con-drive also makes it possible to go places other ships can't go--and to get there in times that no other ships can equal.
In our future, this evolving technology may allow for more immediate concerns, such as an individual who can sense the onslaught of a cyber attack or a malfunction.
Are there ethical and moral questions involved in such a technology? Certainly. And personal dilemmas? Of course. As with any 'enhancement' of the human mind, there are bound to be trade-offs. Such abilities may leave an individual feeling an outsider from his or her peers. Emotionally, and mental health-wise, there's a possibility this feeling of isolation could take a toll on the human psyche. It may leave someone with these enhancements questioning if they are not more--but less--human because of their abilities.
In many ways, direct mind connection to technology becomes like a futuristic superpower. And as with all superpowers, there's a personal price that must be paid.
Technology has been catching up to my Near Future SFR--The Outer Planets--for almost a decade now. But it's a bit sobering for me as an author to see that it's already beginning to catch up with a story set fifteen centuries into our future. As Dr. Alan Grant said in Jurassic Park, "The world has just changed so radically, and we're all running to catch up."
That seems to go double for science fiction authors.
Reference: DARPA - Pentagon Wants to Bring Mind-Controlled Tech to the Troops
Have a great week.
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