by Dagny Taggart, The Organic Prepper:

What if you could have a chip installed in your brain that would increase your intelligence? Would you be interested?

While this kind of brain-computer interface technology might sound like something out of a dystopian science fiction novel, scientists are working hard to develop it, and it will likely be available in the near future.

This gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “smart person.”

Scientists are currently developing smart chips for the human brain.

In an interview with CBS Chicago, Northwestern University neuroscientist and business professor Dr. Moran Cerf said he is working on a smart chip for the brain.

“In as little as five years, super smart people could be walking down the street; men and women who’ve paid to increase their intelligence,” the report states.

Dr. Cerf, who said he is “collaborating with Silicon Valley big wigs he’d rather not name,” explained that the smart chip would “Make it so that it has an internet connection and goes to Wikipedia, and when I think this particular thought, it gives me the answer.”

“Everyone is spending a lot of time right now trying to find ways to get things into the brain without drilling a hole in your skull,” Cerf said. “Can you eat something that will actually get to your brain? Can you eat things in parts that will assemble inside your head?” (source)

I don’t know about you, but I find the idea this bit of information troubling: “Everyone is spending a lot of time trying to find new ways to get things into the brain.”

Who is “everyone” and what is their agenda? What kind of “things” do they want to get into our brains, exactly?

What are the ethical consequences of super-intelligent humans?

Super-intelligent humans are undoubtedly coming, but serious questions about the consequences are being raised.

Despite working on the project himself, Cerf acknowledges there are significant ethical concerns associated with this kind of technology:

Cerf worries about creating intelligence gaps in society; on top of existing gender, racial, and financial inequalities.

“They can make money by just thinking about the right investments, and we cannot; so they’re going to get richer, they’re going to get healthier, they’re going to live longer,” he said. (source)

While is nice that Cerf mentioned those concerns during the short CBS interview, it makes one wonder why he is still interested in pursuing the project.

The average human IQ is 100. People with Cerf’s smart chip implanted in their brains would have an IQ of about 200, which raises an important question: Would those “super intelligent” people even want to interact with “average” humans?

“Are they going to say, ‘Look at this cute human, Stephen Hawking. He can do differential equations in his mind, just like a little baby with 160 IQ points. Isn’t it amazing? So cute. Now let’s put it back in a cage and give it bananas,’” Cerf said. (source)

Of course, Cerf isn’t the only one working on this kind of technology.

How long until Brain-Computer Interfaces become a way of life?

As much as they sound like the stuff of science fiction, brain implants and other types of neural links, such as Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) between the brain and the internet, are rapidly becoming reality.

Last month, we reported that a team of neuro-engineers at Columbia University created a mind-reading system that uses artificial intelligence to translate people’s thoughts into intelligible, recognizable speech.

And, China is already deploying emotional surveillance technology that mines data from the minds of its citizens. “Essentially, they’re data mining by reading their brains,” Meadow Clark explained.

Technology giants are very interested in being able to read minds.

And, as you have likely heard by now, Facebook has been working on building similar products with project often referred to as “Building 8”. The tech giant recently moved its experimental hardware projects (including computer-brain interface, “soft” robotics, and a project to “hear” through a skin-worn device) from Building 8 to a division called Facebook Reality Labs.

In an article titled Questioning Facebook’s vision of brain-controlled devices, Bryan Clark presents some legitimate concerns regarding the social media behemoth’s project:

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