Recently AI has been applied to decoding MRI brain scans. The researchers claim that it’s possible to reconstruct parts of what the scanned subjects are “thinking or seeing.” Despite a laundry list of caveats, and the tentative limited nature of these claims, the misleadia jumped all over this and declared, with bed-wetting urgency, that the age of mind reading has arrived.
As I write, hysterical Karens and obese Chads, the world over, are already convening EUish panels to call for international mental privacy and brain scanning laws. This is so damn predictable. EUish regulating creatures have carved out a cushy living with holier than thou cajoling, nudging, lecturing, censoring, canceling, and prosecuting those that think differently. The idea that all our thoughts might get out there must terrify these timid souls because they, and everyone else, know that public thought is only a tiny portion of what’s lurking in our dark twisted cortexes.
On the inside, we have no limits. I’ve imagined burning this universe down to quarks while dancing to the horrid screams of everything thing in it dying. But that’s only me! No doubt you’ve incubated your own private apocalypses. It’s ok, we all do it; even the EUish regulators. If you don’t harbor dark holes, you’re not sentient. Thinking beings shouldn’t fear their dark holes because a big part of any creative act is shining a light in them. There are treasures down there and you need only look.
You, and the EUish creatures, fear mind reading because you’ve been brought up on a steady stream of sci-fi comic book fantasies that depict mind readers as evil and dangerous villains. We are so used to authoritarian supervillains reading our minds and cackling over our imminent demise that it never occurs to us that mind readers might be used in other ways. No, it’s always a thuggish government reading citizen minds in a never-ending quest for wrong think. It’s always an IRS, enhanced with mind-reading technology, going full forensic audit on our cowering asses. All these fantasies have one thing in common. Only a select few are granted the right to read minds; everyone else is a “book.” The “books” (chumps) never get to read overlord minds, or tax auditor minds, or EUish regulator minds. To which I ask, “Why not?”
If reliable mind readers are, like the bed-wetter’s fear, imminent, one thing is certain; they will not be suppressed or only used by responsible authorities. The EUish regulators can pass all the well-intentioned woke laws they want, but if real power and real money are up for grabs, and only a few bed-wetter laws stand in the way, what do you think will happen?
People will break the law.
We have laws forbidding theft, robbery, and murder, but do we live in a theft, robbery, and murder-free world? Reliable mind readers will be so unbelievably useful to anyone seeking straight answers that they will be obtained by any means necessary. Attempts to control mind-reading technology will only create another billion-dollar black market. Overwhelming demand always overpowers legalities. If it’s possible to build mind readers, motivated actors will obtain and use them whether legally or not. So, are we doomed to a mind-reading dystopia where every thug-state or powerful asshole can read us at will?
I say no. Imagine a world where every individual has a mind reader implanted in their skull, constantly ensuring their online presence. Imagine these readers transmit our thoughts to the Internet, where they are meticulously cataloged, indexed, and hashed for public access. Imagine going “off mind” (attempting to conceal your thoughts) is considered the rudest and most despicable act possible. Imagine “off minders” being hunted for sport, thrown in prison, or burned at the stake for daring to hide their thoughts. In this mandatory mind-reading society, everyone’s mind becomes a forever open book. It is no longer possible to lie, scam, deceive, or manipulate people.
This is going to be very inconvenient for our corrupt political classes. I don’t know about you, but I’d be perfectly happy broadcasting my lurid sexual fantasies, squeamish insecurities, petty grievances, unfiltered opinions, harsh judgments, and my general overall stupefied inner self, to live in a world without lies. So, if it’s possible to build mind readers. let’s make them mandatory.
Analyze the Data not the Drivel 