Total Recall: Pentagon Looks to 'Optimize' Troops' Minds

Total Recall: Pentagon Looks to 'Optimize' Troops' Minds

www.wired.com

Next up: turning soldier’s memories into finely-tuned hard drives. Darpa, the Pentagon’s far-out research arm, is soliciting ideas for a system that would optimize human memory storage and recall by synchronizing neural brain waves. The agency is hoping the project will keep human soldiers on pace with rapidly advancing computer technology.

(visit the link for the full news article)


edit to fix headline

[edit on 30-7-2009 by TheAssociate]

[edit on 30-7-2009 by TheAssociate]

Apparently DARPA is working on 'enhancing' the brains of soldiers. In other words, they've had this technology for quite a while: DARPA never talks about anything new.

I can see some upsides to this, such as increased memory, but for the most part this is just plain scary. Every day the line between biology and technology blurs a little more.


TA

www.wired.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 30-7-2009 by TheAssociate]

like we need to remember any of the Fk t up sh* that we see when we were deployed!

reply to post by soldier8828

Good point. I imagine most soldiers would rather forget a majority of the things they experience during combat. Thanks and star for the insight.


TA

thanks for posting the thread ppl need to know about this ish....

Good way to cover up atrocities and scandals. Send a platoon in to destroy a village and murder the villagers and then wipe their memory and blame it on the enemy.

Scary stuff indeed ... how often they use the army as testing ground for their new innovations! Next, it will be the man and woman in the street undergoing mind "optimization" ... in programming lingo this usually means "upgrade" but I'm sure this is not going to be "Human Being V2.0" ... better watch this space very closely.

[edit on 30/7/2009 by Psyagra]

Originally posted by CuriousSkeptic
Good way to cover up atrocities and scandals. Send a platoon in to destroy a village and murder the villagers and then wipe their memory and blame it on the enemy.

Point null, surprised it was starred.

You can hardly wipe a human mind though can you. Yes I know you can wipe a HD (almost anyway) but as the memories stored on hardware are retrieved from neural brain waves the memory will still be intact within the biological brain.

And yes, I do realise maybe techniques such as hypnotherapy could make people 'forget' these memories but that is hardly a permanent fix. Bar death there is no way to totally wipe all biological memory.

Edit: Me and my girlfriend have often had the debate of whether or not we would allow our body to have mechanical parts, I certainly would, she certainly would not. As long is it lays beneath the skin I'd love the possibility of increasing my knowledge retention, I wouldn't want it for the sake of making myself a better killer however.


[edit on 30/7/09 by Sed Non Credo]

"What Darpa wants is a small, portable system that presents information in an order that would optimally synchronize Gamma and Theta waves. This would give soldiers a boost at retaining large quantities of information in high-stress situations, for longer periods of time."

So pretty much manipulate man with technology. Doesnt sound like a good outcome. Might cause brain damage by frying those circuits but like you said DARPA never talks about anything new. Which can only mean its a success.

It should be easier on the soldiers who have to deal with the tragedies of war.

High tech brainwashing techniques.

Nope. Not good.

Nope.