"Oh shit- now nothing is private."
Don't get me wrong- it's amazing stuff, and I'm all for the advancements it can bring. But the mind really is the last bastion of privacy in our increasingly policed world.
Think about it:
1) When you make a call, it can be logged and recorded.
2) When you walk into a bank (or a million other locations), your actions are on camera.
3) When you visit a site, your IP address, as well as other information, is logged.
Almost everything is monitored.
Granted the advancement of technology has brought FAR more benefits than costs, but sometimes I wonder what it would be like to live in the 1800s, when you could do something and not have to worry about your actions being "logged" to some eternal database.
Of course, it's fairly easy to control actions. Don't send really personal stuff via email, don't scratch your crotch in front of a security camera. But when it comes to thoughts, it's a different story. Try not thinking about something, and you'll find you can't do it.
I'm sure every single person in this world has had thoughts he/she would not want to reveal.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. It will probably be a while before we have to seriously worry about the implications of this technology.
So far.
I don't think we've given it enough of a trial run. Global warming and overpopulation are two results of technological advancement that could potentially outweigh all the benefits of progress if they get bad enough.
People say this, but I find it's not true. Just think of something else. Works most of the time.
Look at the spread of mobile cameras (mostly in phones). These have allowed many an injustice to be exposed. The police no longer feel like they have immunity to do whatever they want.
Consider the benefits of being able to scan the brains of those accused of crimes against humanity. If people understood that in the long term there are no secrets they would hesitate to do evil deeds.
TRULY innocent people will probably like this tech a lot.
I guess how you think and act, then, will be a measure of whether you want to be thought of as moral or interesting. ;)
Why? Are they having problems with people imagining politically undesirable images?
I would think the West, with its insane war to protect the cartoon children, would have more use for such technology.
On the other hand, this provides the opportunity for total loss of privacy. Forget freedom of speech, people might start to attack the freedom to think certain thoughts. In other news, China and Iran are thrilled at this new science.