Will computer chip brain implants save the world or seal its doom? Scientific estimates are that in 30 years  the surgical procedure will be a widespread occurrence.  Knowledge will no longer need to be learned, it will be uploaded. A world leader, known only for only average intelligence at best,  could invite the world chess champion to dinner, and play a game of chess with him to a draw. It would be like Gary Kasparov playing IBM’s Big Blue personified in the Oval Office.

There are a lot of arguments on both sides of the issue of implanting computer chips into the brains of people. Imagine a doctor, without surgical training, needing to know how to perform a surgery to save someone’s life. He uploads the information into his brain and he saves a life in the nick of time.

Or say you are going on vacation to Japan and you want to know how to speak Japanese. In a couple minutes, you are a fluent in the language. Better yet,  how about a four year college degree in five minutes?
Or perhaps a group of scientists need to educate the world on how to stop global warming before the planet destroys itself.

If ignorance breeds hatred, then maybe knowledge can breed love.  Or perhaps only power.

Knowledge equals power. The more educated a nation’s population, the more economically viable that nation is. Let’s say the people of Japan in 30 years are using this technology on a wide-spread basis and that their technology, because of a vastly more intelligent work force, dwarfs the technology in the United States. If something is good for business, then you can bet it will be used. Instead of a political debate on universal health care, the debate will be on universal brain augmentation.

The debate will be on whether it is a right, or a privilege. Will it be only for the wealthy who can afford it, or will it be provided for everyone? Or will corporations, eager to have the most intelligent workforce possible, provide this to all of its workers? Will it be part of a corporate benefits package? Or would the willingness to undergo brain chip implantation become a requirement of a new employee? Would the procedure be paid by the technology firm or would the employee have to have the financial resources to pay for it?

Perhaps new knowledge will prompt new interests. Perhaps it will prompt the learning of traditions of foreign cultures and languages. Will increased understanding of the world create peace and understanding? Will poverty and disease be wiped off the face of the planet? Or will this knowledge be used for exploitation?

What about politics? Would we settle anymore for a political leaders  with an ordinary IQ or would we demand cutting edge cyber intelligence?  And would political leaders with cutting edge cyber intelligence use that capability for narrow and selfish agendas?

Would the first wave of people who get the brain implants become the rulers of the world? Would they enslave the non-implanted people to do the  grunt work of the world, like digging ditches and mining coal?

If you had one of the brain implants, would other implantees be able to send  emails straight to your brain? And if they were able to do that, would some send computer viruses? Can you imagine each day not only taking your vitamins, but uploading the latest McAfee anti-virus software for your brain?

Like schools that have required reading, would there be required uploads? Would propaganda be seen for what it is or could a whole society become brainwashed? Could people with mental retardation  become as brilliant as a David Hawkings? Would memory enhancements mean the end of Alzheimer’s?

And what about corruption? Would criminals become highly advanced criminals or would they know enough to make an honest living? Unless there is a corresponding leap in spiritual consciousness, the possibilities of greed and corruption would be overwhelming.

Ah, but there is a solution for that too. Or so we are told. Some argue that spiritual consciousness could also be enhanced artificially. It reminds me of people in the 1960s trying to find God in a pill. Remember LSD?

There are ways to stimulate experiences akin to spiritual consciousness and  mystical ecstasy with the electronic stimulation of the brain. But this is only an illusion of spiritual ecstasy, as spiritual consciousness has its source beyond the physical body and the brain. I even read that Meher Baba said that there is no such thing as “areas in the brain reserved for subtle consciousness.” To stimulate them electronically or with substances like dimethyltryptamine or even LSD has no meaning.
And what about a world-wide transformation of consciousness through genetics? Rick Strassman, a psychiatrist at the University of New Mexico, thinks it’s possible. He speculates that our natural mystical capacity might be enhanced with genetic modifications that boost the production of dimethyltryptamine (DMT) or of the enzymes that catalyze its effects. He even thinks that a clever, unscrupulous geneticist might even transform us all into mystics without our consent. “I can envision a situation where a cold virus is tinkered with to turn on our methylating enzymes,” Strassman says, “spreads around the world in a couple of years, and there you have it.” Combine this with brain chips and you have a world full of know-it-alls thinking they are spiritually advanced mystics.

Perhaps the gloomiest possibility of all this brain technology is that it leaves humanity with an imbalance between the head and the heart. With seemingly infinite virtual intelligence, would people still take time to love? Would people still be drawn to the spiritual path?

Or would the potential of spiritual consciousness proceed alongside the advancements in the  brain? Would people become more authentic or more programmed?

Just because you can upload a book about Zen into your brain doesn’t make you enlightened. People still will have all of their “stuff,” the blockages within themselves. For these blockages prevent the release of love. To understand a koan you still need awareness and consciousness. Brainpower without consciousness is a recipe for a society of idiot savants.

If you approach this possibility of brain implants with the understanding that we are more than just physical beings, then you will see this from a different perspective. To identify ourselves with our brains is a mistake. It’s ignorance. For we exist as spiritual beings even after our physical death. We have consciousness even if we don’t have a body.

The brain is but a tool, no more than a cane is to a blind man. Granted, it is a more sophisticated tool, but it is still only a tool. To identify yourself as intelligent just because of a chip inside of your brain is delusional.

Yes, as holistic beings, we need to be practical. If enhanced ability due to a computer chip is the practical thing to do, then  perhaps you should do it. But it is only a means to an end. And that end is the expression of our lives in a way that is enlivened by love. For only love can show us who we really are.