Brain Hacking
Today the concerns seem rather to be political due to the emergence of new ideologies and the rise of extremism. However, science is on the way to making substantial advancements at the frontier between technology and neurology. Perhaps we should be more concerned that technology is making a form of brain hack possible.
Even though it sounds like science fiction, brain hacking, to an extent, is already possible. We believe in free will. We assume that our feelings and thoughts flow from our individual freedom and, therefore, so are our actions.
However, this idea is false. There are many conditioning factors that determine how we think, feel and act. So if our decisions are not free, what really conditions them?
Our choices are not completely free
The choices we make depend on biological and social conditions that we cannot control. For example, I can choose what to eat today. This decision, although it seems free at first glance, is conditioned by my genes.
I can only eat what my body tolerates. In addition, the choice will also depend on the resources I have. I can’t eat a veal steak if I don’t have the money to buy it. There will even be cultural factors. If my culture forbids eating dog meat, I certainly won’t choose to eat it.
Love is another example. Do we choose the people we fall in love with? Usually, we don’t.
These examples clearly show that if we take a closer look at the decisions we make on a daily basis, we realize that most of them are beyond our control. Therefore, we do not freely decide what we think. Not even what we feel or what we want. There are limitations.
This belief in free will has great consequences. If companies or governments manage to hack the brain, the most manipulated people are those who still believe in free will.
Brain hacking requires three things. First of all, a solid knowledge of biology. Then a lot of data on the population. Finally, great computer skills. These three elements together make it possible to predict the decisions that a person is going to make. Worse yet, it even allows her to manipulate her feelings.
Brain hacking
The fake news are another example of the restriction of freedoms. When we read false information without our knowledge and believe it, we think we are free to believe it or not.
But the truth is, someone tricked us. The person who put this fake news into our brain did it to make us believe that the false information was true. So it’s a form of brain hacking.
It is also possible to create algorithms that predict our preferences with all the information we publish on social networks. This is a more elaborate hack of the brain.
These preferences allow hackers to create fake news that matches a particular person’s beliefs. It is thus possible to create fake personalized messages. These can be very convincing.
Obviously, this is nothing new. Advertising has always done this. The difference is that today, with the rise of the internet and social media, there is more data available on people. Therefore, the messages can be more personalized.
In addition, the use of fear, hatred and greed is becoming more widespread. Thus, we are more likely to believe false information about a person or a group of people that we do not like.
What the future holds
But it does not stop there. Today, the use of devices that measure heart rate is more widespread.
Imagine for a moment that this heart rate data correlates with research on the Internet? What if they were associated with the use of our credit card? We could then be sold any product or political ideology. In this situation, would the voter really know what is fair and the consumer what he wants?
Our response to this phenomenon is a backlash. Instead of taking up the challenge, we take refuge in even more distant illusions. We have recourse to religious and nationalist fantasies that are increasingly distant from scientific veracity.
However, there is a solution. It consists in knowing your weak points. Computers are hacked because there are faulty lines of code. Humans, on the other hand, are through their fears, their hatreds, their prejudices and their desires.
Brain hackers, however, cannot create hate and fear out of thin air. But, when they find out that they exist in a person, it is easier for them to know how to exploit them for profit.
Our thoughts We are talking to you here about people who perfectly master certain manipulation techniques and who use them to disturb us.
