Related Stories
Life-changing brain tech, but with a chilling caveat
Key Excerpts from Article on Website of Harvard Gazette
Posted: July 2nd, 2026
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2025/03/hope-for-life...
On Jan. 28, 2024, Noland Arbaugh became the first person to receive a brain chip implant from Neuralink, the neurotechnology company owned by Elon Musk. The implant seemed to work: Arbaugh, who is paralyzed, learned to control a computer mouse with his mind and even to play online chess. The device is part of a class of therapeutics, brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), that show promise for helping people with disabilities. A new discussion paper from the Carr Center for Human Rights welcomes the potential benefits but offers a note of caution. “In the past, there have been actors who were interested in controlling people’s minds,” [said] Lukas Meier, the paper’s author. “It’s not implausible that in the future there will be such actors, at whichever level, state or private sector, who might attempt the same but with improved technology.” Meier speculates that in addition to decoding our thoughts, BCIs could be used to change our behavior. He describes research showing that some patients receiving deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease experience manic symptoms, including a 2006 case in which a patient with no previous criminal record broke into a parked car when the stimulator was activated, then returned to normal when the stimulation stopped. “Making somebody without any criminal record break into a car seems to be a pretty strong interference,” he said. “Technological innovations which are becoming available ... are at high risk of being misused in order to gain an advantage.”
Note: In 1965, Jose Delgado famously stopped a charging bull with an electronic device implanted in its brain. How far might this technology progressed since then? For more along these lines, read our concise summaries of news articles on microchip implants and mind control.
Related Stories
Latest News
Key News Articles from Years Past
