A company that specializes in implanting neural computer interfaces into the human brain claims that a patient, who suffers from a nervous system disease that prevents his movement, successfully used their technology to publish a social media post just by thinking it.
Philip O’Keefe, a 62-year-old man from Australia, has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which causes paralysis. But technology firm Synchron says he can now communicate without the need of any muscle activity.
On Thursday, O’Keefe posted on Twitter “using only direct thought,” according to Synchron.
“I created this tweet just by thinking it,” read a tweet ostensibly authored by O’Keefe that was posted by the account of Synchron CEO Thomas Oxley.
The company asserts the tweet was created wirelessly from the man’s brain. He had a brain computer interface (BCI) called “Stentrode” installed last year. The implant, “designed to enable patients to wirelessly control digital devices through thought,” was inserted via the jugular vein to avoid drilling into the skull.
“Now, I just think about where on the computer I want to click, and I can email, bank, shop, and now message the world via Twitter,” the company cited O’Keefe as saying wirelessly. According to him, the “astonishing” system takes practice, just like learning to ride a bike, “but once you’re rolling, it becomes natural.”
“My hope is that I’m paving the way for people to tweet through thoughts,” was ostensibly O’Keefe’s closing statement.
A press release from Synchron read:
Philip received the endovascular Stentrode brain computer interface in April 2020 following progressive paralysis caused by ALS which left him unable to engage in work-related or other independent activities. Mr. O’Keefe has since been using the technology to reconnect with his family, and business colleagues continuing email exchanges and staying actively involved in his consultancy and other business projects.
“These fun holiday tweets are actually an important moment for the field of implantable brain computer interfaces. They highlight the connection, hope and freedom that BCIs give to people like Phil who have had so much of their functional independence taken away due to debilitating paralysis,” said Thomas Oxley, MD, PhD, CEO, Synchron.
Synchron stated it plans to further develop its brain computer interface in an in-human study in the U.S. next year.
The advances made by Synchron raise questions about the potential future uses of BCI technology. Certainly it can be used to drastically improve the lives of individuals like O’Keefe in an unprecedented way, allowing those with ALS and similar conditions to continue living life.
But, as with nuclear power—which can either be used to power cities or create bombs that destroy cities—is there a potential that this technology, which undoubtedly is being used for good, will ultimately be abused?
TNA contributor Alex Newman has extensively covered the transhumanist movement. From Elon Musk’s “neuralink” that directly connects the brain to computers (and is already working on animals) to Mark Zuckerberg’s so-called Metaverse to the installation of electrodes in the brain to genetically engineered viruses to activate certain areas of the brain, the research on merging blending humans with machines has been going on for decades and raises major questions for the future of humanity.
As Newman reported in his article “‘Great Reset’ Transhumanism: Merging Man & Machine,” transhumanism is being promoted by the globalist establishment:
The push for the “Great Reset” is hardly the first time the elites have peddled the trans-humanist agenda. At the 2018 “World Government Summit” in the United Arab Emirates, top globalists and “world leaders” gathered to push, among other key themes, the normalization and glorification of “cyborgs.” Indeed, the confab, which brings together top leaders of government and business, offered a prominent role to a self-proclaimed “cyborg” named Neil Harbisson, who argued that governments must facilitate the transition to at least some people becoming “part-technology, part-human.”
“I have an antenna that is implanted inside my head, which allows me to extend my perception of reality beyond the visual spectrum,” said Harbisson, co-founder of the Cyborg Society and the Transpecies Society which fight for people who “identify” as non-human. “I can sense infrared and ultraviolet, and I also have an internet connection in my head that allows me to receive colors from other parts of the world, or connect to satellites so I can send colors from space.”
If Synchron’s technology truly does what it claims, there are certainly benefits for individuals suffering the effects of ALS, as O’Keefe is. But the question is, will corporations and the government attempt to use this technology to gain control over those who have the chip implanted in their brains?
Knowing what we know about human nature and those with power, the answer is obvious.
