That's the Matrix and it is too late for anyone to stop it.

Yeah...... no.

Not going to happen.

What they are talking about, here, is quite a bit different and dependent upon a standard of input (vision).

Each of our brains is a highly individualized set of neural pathways (it is, as one would say, why we are who we are). We, as an organism, learn in an array of standard ways... but we, as a brain, learn in a very individualized manner. We store and recall in a very individualized manner. We share common structures and topographies in our brain - but that's about where the similarities stop.

It will never be an effective use of cybernetic technology to attempt to download information into the brain. It is better applied to a digital storage device that the brain can adapt and learn to communicate and share information with (thereby becoming an extension of the brain's memory system). The internal pathways are too individualized, otherwise.

There are also problems with issues of "download-and-learn" motor-skills. You will never be able to download, into a child, the ability to ride a bike. The natural sense of balance comes from motor-memory - memory and 'code' developed between the brain and motor neurons.

In reality, if you even could tailor a device to an individual child to manipulate their neural pathways so that they had the same relevant pathways of someone who knew how to ride a bike - they would still have a miserable time attempting to ride the bike, as the 'program' would be based on neural connections and short-hand forged between the brain and motor-neurons.

I'll put that in beer-belly terms. You can sit in the locker room and doodle plays on the board all day long. Your team still has to actually get out there and perform the plays so they know what those plays look like from the ground. They still have to learn to work as a team - to read each other and respond to situations dynamically. Ultimately - they still have to practice.

You can feed them the play book for every meal and show them enough stock footage of other teams pulling off the plays until they are subconsciously arranging their room to look like plays from the book. They still have to get out there on the field and practice the plays as a team. Further - they have to play real opponents to hone their teamwork and skills.

That's just the way it is. It's the way it will always be. "Download a skill" will never be a reality. Sure - there will be ways to help reduce the learning curve (cybernetic versions of instructional DVDs or computer training simulations, certainly) - but the whole idea that you are going to be able to hit a few key strokes and suddenly be able to play the Piano with any kind of added proficiency is pure fantasy.

It would be useful for learning piano and instruments, or manuel labour tasks. If their claims hold water.

I doubt it works that way, new technology is always overblown. However if learning skills was just a simple download of the mind imagine how that would change the job market. As of right now you're paid for the skill you learn in school, and depending on those skills which can take years to learn or even decades comes with a higher price. But if it only took one brain session to become a doctor then new laws, and quotas would have to be put in place, creating a whole new class system dilemma, or maybe even eliminating the class system all together depending on how receptive society would be to the new technology.

Anyways sorry about the tangent, I saw something similar to this in a Stargate episode it was on my mind.