Tuesday, September 16, 2008

SHOULD THE GOVERNMENT MAKE THIS TYPE OF TECHNOLOGY?

Sunday, Sep. 14, 2008

The Army's Totally Serious Mind-Control Project

Soldiers barking orders at each other is so 20th Century. That's why the U.S. Army has just awarded a $4 million contract to begin developing "thought helmets" that would harness silent brain waves for secure communication among troops. Ultimately, the Army hopes the project will "lead to direct mental control of military systems by thought alone."

If this sounds insane, it would have been as recently as a few years ago. But improvements in computing power and a better understanding of how the brain works have scientists busy hunting for the distinctive neural fingerprints that flash through a brain when a person is talking to himself. The Army's initial goal is to capture those brain waves with incredibly sophisticated software that then translates the waves into audible radio messages for other troops in the field. "It'd be radio without a microphone, " says Dr. Elmar Schmeisser, the Army neuroscientist overseeing the program. "Because soldiers are already trained to talk in clean, clear and formulaic ways, it would be a very small step to have them think that way."

B-movie buffs may recall that Clint Eastwood used similar "brain-computer interface" technology in 1982's Firefox, named for the Soviet fighter plane whose weapons were controlled by the pilot's thoughts. (Clint was sent to steal the plane, natch.) Yet it's not as far-fetched as you might think: video gamers are eagerly awaiting a crude commercial version of brain wave technology — a $299 headset from San Francisco-based Emotiv Systems — in summer 2009.

The Army doesn't move quite as fast as gamers though. The military's vastly more sophisticated system may be a decade or two away from reality, let alone implementation. The five-year contract it awarded last month to a coalition of scientists from the University of California at Irvine, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of Maryland, seeks to "decode the activity in brain networks" so that a soldier could radio commands to one or many comrades by thinking of the message he wanted to relay and who should get it. Initially, the recipients would most likely hear transmissions rendered by a robotic voice via earphones. But scientists eventually hope to deliver a version in which commands are rendered in the speaker's voice and indicate the speaker's distance and direction from the listener.

"Having a soldier gain the ability to communicate without any overt movement would be invaluable both in the battlefield as well as in combat casualty care," the Army said in last year's contract solicitation. "It would provide a revolutionary technology for silent communication and orientation that is inherently immune to external environmental sound and light."

The key challenge will be to develop software able to pinpoint the speech-related brain waves picked up by the 128-sensor array that ultimately will be buried inside a helmet. Those sensors detect the minute electrical charges generated by nerve pathways in the brain when thinking occurs. The sensors will generate an electroencephalogram — a confusing pile of squiggles on a computer screen — that scientists will study to find those vital to communicating. "We think we can train a computer to understand those squiggles to the point that they can read off the commands that your brain is issuing to your mouth and lips," Schmeisser says. Unfortunately, it's not a matter of finding the single right squiggle. "There's no golden neuron that's talking," he says.

Dr. Mike D'Zmura of UC-Irvine, the lead scientist on the project, says his task is akin to finding the right strands on a plate full of pasta. "You need to pick out the relevant pieces of spaghetti," he says, "and sometimes they have to be torn apart and re-attached to others." But with ever-increasing computing power the task can be done in real time, he says. Users also will have to be trained to think loudly. "How do we get a person to think something to themselves in a way that leaves a very strong signal in EEGs that we can read off against the background noise?" D'Zmura asks. Finally, because every person's EEG is different, persons using "thought helmets" will have to be trained so that computers intercepting their unspoken commands recognize each user's unique mental pattern.

Both scientists pre-emptively deny expected charges that they're literally messing with soldiers' minds. "A lot of people interpret wires coming out of the head as some sort of mind reading," D'Zmura sighs. "But there's no way you can get there from here," Schmeisser insists. "Not only do you have to be willing, but since your brain is unique, you have to train the system to read your mind — so it's impossible to do it against someone's will and without their active and sustained cooperation."

And don't overlook potential civilian benefits. "How often have you been annoyed by people screaming into their cell phones?" Schmeisser asks. "What if instead of their Bluetooth earpiece it was a Bluetooth headpiece and their mouth is shut and there's blessed silence all around you?" Sounds like one of those rare slices of the U.S. military budget even pacifists might support.

88 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Katlyn Elbon
PRD: 6

I think that this is way too crazy of an idea. Think of all the accidents that could occure with this new idea. If they just think of shooting someone, and its a complete accident lawsuits and everything could be brought up. Im pretty sure thats something the army would much rather avoid...atleast i think so. So in my opinion i think that the military could get much more acurate results by just using the traditional manual guns, rather then something that reads your mind to shoot a possible innocent life.

September 16, 2008 at 4:49 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Tyler McCulley
Prd 6

I think this idea would be really cool. There would just be so many bugs they would have to work out of it. Say a soldier was wanting to shoot the person next to them just from a personal conflict. That would be a major mishap if the shot got fired. There is no way to keep the human brain from having thoughts like that and how could the device determine to shoot of not to. That idea i dont think will ever become realistic.

September 16, 2008 at 5:20 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Derrek Bost
Period 4


I think this a bad idea. Yah it sounds cool and all, but there is other things about it. There is the bugs in the technology that could make it malfunction. That could probably mess up the idea. Also it could mess up and backstab us. But that is my opinion on the article.

September 16, 2008 at 5:41 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jonathan Alvarado
Period 3

I don't think it is a good idea using a mind controlling helmet because it might make you do things you don't want to do and use your weapons against you or someone might use it for bad and not good. A terrorist might get it and the alot of countries might be in trouble.

September 16, 2008 at 6:10 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Garrett Brough
per. 2


I think that it is a cool idea if the army can create a system that can tell the minds of the soldiers where to go and when to be there. Now if they can make some for like trigger happy people to make sure the gun does not shoot at his allies or civilans. I would also add lie dectors in the helmets to reduce the amount of spies in the army. Also have like a metal seeking visson of something like that to stop sucide explosions against as.

September 16, 2008 at 6:16 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Vicmariel Colon
PD.2

This idea is off the chain! :-D
But let's be realistic here, who in there right mind thinks this technology is SAFE? The brain has so many thoughts processing at once, how does a computer know which thought is the right one? This whole concept seems kind of shifty -_-
But whatever your opinion may be, it's going to take YEARS to work the kinks and bugs outta this technology... i mean there's so many blind spots, i don't even know how the government signed off on this one! And where EXACTLY did we get the money to fund something like this...
mmmmmmmm -_- coincidence... I THINK NOT!
hehehehehe XD

September 16, 2008 at 6:28 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

jesus ramirez
p3


think this idea would be really cool and really stupid.i meen come on how weak do you have to be to tell you mind to shoot a gun for you. the bugs dont sound so good eather what if somthing happens when there trying to put that bug in. and what will happen when you leav the army do they take it out or leav it in i say this hole thing is dumb and east of $4 million

September 16, 2008 at 7:05 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wesley Hundley
P4

I think this new idea is pretty good. I think it makes sense what they're saying because you cant really criticize it since it's the soldier controlling it. One problem with it though is it what if enemy soldiers mess up their communication signals. Or what if a soldier gets wet and gets electrocuted from the device. Overall though it's not a bad idea.I just hope we don't end up paying for it with our money.

September 16, 2008 at 7:13 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

thomas tomko 3rd period
I believe this technology has many purposes, I've even designed a few neural interface devices myself, but this shouldn't be used for Killing and warfare!
This is exactly what the concept of M.A.D.(mutual assured destruction) says will happen.
We build an A-bomb, everyone else Builds an A-bomb, we build an H-bomb they build one,etc,etc, escalating to an inevitable point where we build a weapon we can't control and eventually destroy the planet, or worse ANNIHILATE the very fabric of time,space, and reality itself!

September 16, 2008 at 8:40 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

justin preston
3rd

i think that it would help the soldiers by not giving away their positions by talking.it could also be a bad thing to because if it gets into the wrong hands we are screwed. they could use it against us.and what if they were mad at a fellow soldier and shoots them by accident then it will start a lot of problems. so i think that they should leave it alone before the wrong person gets injured.

September 16, 2008 at 8:44 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

well it does sound kind of cool knowing that we are capable of doing something that significant, but it doesnt really sound like a good idea to go through with.it can hurt people easily if not cautious and might be used badly in the wrong hands which you dont want.terrorists can cause lots of damage.

arash akbari
pd 3

September 16, 2008 at 9:07 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nicole McElfresh
Pd:4
Personally, I just think that that's creepy & a waste of time. Like why make something like that when they could be spending time making something 10 times better & more efficient? To me it's just dumb.Also, some people don't think and if they do. what if it's just a thought? not something that they would actually do. I don't know. To me it's totally insane and a waste. It would not be accurate and is probally too percise.
I don't like it at all.

September 16, 2008 at 10:22 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Tanner Garbutt
pd. 1

I think this is way to technical. We are already finding new technoligies left and right. It's not like one of those things were you can't live without it, or someday it will be impossible to live if you don't discover it now. Maybe if we waited a couple more HUNDRED years before anything that crazy is put into perspective. So many possible things could make this idea into a horrible outcome. Also many innocent people could be harmed just for standing in the wrong spot at the wrong time.

:]

September 16, 2008 at 11:08 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Tanner Banks
Pd.4


Well im kinda thinking this idea is a bit crazy.Yes i could be a good idea but i can think of plenty of ways something could go wrong.I think all that money should be put into 1something more than something this silly.Lets say the aids epedimic or the homeless.Bad idea i would not support this.

September 16, 2008 at 11:22 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Shanise Green
Period 1

I think that this is unique and different. But i don't think that they should waste their money on something so uneccessary. They should be trying to help these poor countries that are suffering. Me personally i think that is a stupid idea. They should be trying to spend their money wisely.

September 16, 2008 at 11:50 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jeremiah Combs
Period 2


The Idea itself is not a terrible idea. But, it would make war, completely irrelivant. First we would create the technology, then Some person would sell the idea illegaly to some foreign country. Within a year everybody would have the technology. No killing could pass this barrior in the art of war. Elimanating war will not elimenate hatrid, the hatred would fester and explode in the creation of new technology or Atom-Bombs.
On the other side of the story asking anyone to change the way they think is not cool. It is the one thing that the government cant find out unless you tell them. I think it is immoral and wrong.

September 17, 2008 at 4:46 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Alyssa Rivera
pd.2

I think that the idea that we could do that is amazing! But just because it's a cool idea and it's something new doesn't mean we should do it. I think it's a waste of government money. How are you supposed to teach someone to THINK loudly? In my opinion humans are too emotional to be responsible with that kind of technology.

September 17, 2008 at 5:04 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

nicolas mees
pr 6

i think that we should not create this technology because people would hear what you are thinking, and that it would also lead to mind control, and also making shure u would not think bad things,they could create their dreams into your head, it would create absolute dictatorship to th owner of the technology of mind control.

September 17, 2008 at 5:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

yari dejesus
pd4
=]

I think that idea is really incredable and who ever came up with it is a genius. Its awesome for them because it helps them move at a faster paste. At the same time its bad to make such technology because this tec an get across to other contries maybe because some trader in the army decides to sell it and then war gets even deadlier.=[

September 17, 2008 at 7:44 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Having this technology to meis insane, I think its pretty cool how these helmets are even real. I like them but I also think that they are very dangerous. If these helmets are going to be released, they need to have some sort of boundries and limits. These helmets could cause accidental deaths and possible suicide. If they can make these helmets safe and smart then I think it would be a great new idea.

September 17, 2008 at 8:37 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Alexander Perryman
Period 4

I think that this is a bad idea. I think this because you are taking out the human element of warfare. Yes it can make a person act if there body wont respond, but it also has ,malfunctions, such as a soilder might be thinking something that they don't want to think and someone could get seriously hurt, or worse, die. NO matter what you do there will be accidents such as friendly fire, if we have this it might just add to these tragidies

September 17, 2008 at 9:18 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

jonathan cardona
period 2


I think that this is a bad idea.and at the same time i think it is a very good idea. eventually they make combat robots that we control with our mind and there for reduceing men on the front line. one bad thing is that if u have a bad day and u feel like u want to kill everyone if u think it the guns move on themselfs and kills lots of people. it could also lead to mind control that in the bad hands can enslave all people when and if they wanted.

September 17, 2008 at 9:41 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Britney Padilla
4th period

In my opinion I think this is a bad idea. Yes this is cool & all but their is a lot of things that can go wrong with this. Not only that we can be making a better choice on how we spend the money. Why use the money on something that we alredy have good for us. Why not use the money to help poor people , a cure for aids , lowering gas prices ! Our army is alredy good & we don't need some helmet to help us talk ... We have mouths & a voice you know !

September 18, 2008 at 6:49 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

anthony jattan
period 1
i think that isnt really stupid. i think that they're a bunch of lazy bums. all its going to do is make the generals and lieutenauts jobs alot easier. they could do so many other better things with 4 million dollars. and is basically make all the soldiers into mindless zombies. common this sounds like a plot to a horror movie.

September 18, 2008 at 11:25 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

anthony jattan
period 1
i think that isnt really stupid. i think that they're a bunch of lazy bums. all its going to do is make the generals and lieutenauts jobs alot easier. they could do so many other better things with 4 million dollars. and is basically make all the soldiers into mindless zombies. common this sounds like a plot to a horror movie.

September 18, 2008 at 11:25 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bryan Vargas
Pd:6

I think that mind control weapon is a bad idea. First not every one in the army thinks as fast as the others.For example like if a convoi get under attack from no where and some soldiers wont have time to think cause its is happening so fast that they could not react of what is happening. When a soldiers is attack he could not think of what to do ether shoot or be killed they dont have time for they just do it without thinking. I also think that they could waste $4 million dollar in new prototype waepons like UAVs to spy on the enemy or a new type of military vehicle, or they could design a new type or armor for soldiers in active duty all the time.

September 18, 2008 at 6:50 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Mallory Shephard :)
Period 4

I think that the scientists and other people who had put thought in creating this were really wasting thier time. The whole idea is insane. It is too smart for our brains. Plus our minds think things evry second and what if the soldiers think something that they really dont want to happen. I think our military is doing just fine. People are just going overbaord with technologey these days. Also this would cause a lot of conflicts and cause way more deaths than needed.

September 18, 2008 at 7:22 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

luis ampudia
pd.3

my opinion i think that the military could get much more acurate results by just using the traditional manual guns.this its going to do is make the generals and lieutenauts jobs alot easier.i think this is awsome its cool

September 18, 2008 at 8:22 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jazmyn Streams
Pd.6

The fact that the government gave up some money is cool. Although, this idea may not be the best because there is a high possibility that things can go very wrong. I agree completely with new technology being given to our troops. After reading the rest of this article I think that the amount of money should be spent on something as advance as this. My only question "will this type of technology be available to the public soon, for games like paintball or lasertag?"

September 18, 2008 at 9:20 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Michelle Burke
Pd.6

I think that the military should just forget about these high tech ideas and just use the guns that they have been using for quite some time now. So to me I think that this new idea is a waste of time and a waste of money, even thou it would be nice to use your mind and not your hands this idea would make the military sound lazy.

September 18, 2008 at 9:29 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Alyssa Samonte
period 2

This new "gear" will have its advantages,and its down falls.
Its good that there coming up with new ways to advance in the feilds.(tecnology speaking)This new "hardware" will cut the time between the mind waves and the trigger.So you have a faster reacting time ,then you would normaly.Yet a downfall of this is when a military personal has a argument and the fight gets worse.
The soilder may have some bad thoughts,and so the other person might get hurt.I personaly feel this new gear is unnecessary,and i like it done the old fasioned way.

September 18, 2008 at 10:18 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Melvin Ramos
p.6

I beileve that having such a device is amazing. This tech can iliminate many problems. but like many say, the old fashion is more exiting. there will be problems using this tech in war fare, one it can stop working and you cant receve orders or warnings, nextthing you know your wonded and cant call for help, two the helment is shot and doesnt work, with the same senario. if they do come out with the tech i'd sugest it be used for mute people as long as its safe.

September 18, 2008 at 11:05 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I beleive this is a bad thing. What if the soldier gets wet or he is thinking something totally opposite from war.Im just saying it could be good or it could be a bad choice for many soldiers.It might be worth the risk cause it could maybe turn our soldiers into better fighters.

September 18, 2008 at 11:06 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Alyssa Libardi
Period 1


I think that it is a cool idea but wouldn't work. People can think all sorts of ideas and for them to try and get into those ideas are a little insane. As someone is shooting someone they could be thinking that they need help or just thinking random thoughts. I don't think this is worth the money that they are putting forth for it because peoples thoughts are not always what they want to say.

September 18, 2008 at 11:41 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

natasha sheomangal block6
I think that its really cool to think about this idea.but you never know if someone can think of something really bad to do and it happens then the whole army or country would be in great big trouble like say if someone said that they wanted to bomb some of the iraqian homes and then all the people would die what would happen then? I also think that its a bad idea because its just a waste of money because all of our tax bugets are going to that and we need that money for health coverage insurance and for alot of poor people too like for the people that are living on the streets and stuff.

September 19, 2008 at 11:09 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Enrique Vera
P.2

Well I think the idea is not that bad. It would indeed be cools if we ha a super rad helmet like that, but then again, on the other side it could maybe turn out really bad. Mind control, i dont know if they have seen the movies with that mind control in it, like that one movie with the jet planes or whatever? Well the planes took control and started doing really bad things and whatnot. So I think if we doo make this "helment of fun" that we're all gona die... but thats just me, haha.

September 20, 2008 at 10:23 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Maria Ortega
Pd:2

I think its a smart idea but at the same time its not such a good idea.So i think that the goverment should not make this kind of technology.We never know if this kind of technology gets into the wrong hands.When people get mad they get lots of crazy ideas in thier head so you could only imagine what would happen if someone who gets raelly mad gets their hand on this technology.Its great that the technology is advancing but this idea is not good for the safty of the people. Thats what i think about this.

September 20, 2008 at 2:51 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Kiana Chan
PD 4

Cool idea! Not the best but it could work.....our generation is made up of technolgy and soon i bet that's what it's going to become. This project is meant to give commands by using your thoughts. In my opinion, not such a good idea. Your thoughts are your private words and that's its purpose, so letting your thoughts out could cause major problems and could mess with one's mind. For example: if you were thinking something bad about a pereson while on the job you wouldn't want that person to know so by a vote,i think this project should be determined. Also their could be malfunctions with the bugs.

September 20, 2008 at 3:03 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Kaia Jennings
p. 6

In a way, I think its a cool idea. But then again its kinda crazy.
The technology that people are thinking of are getting too...whats the word? Detailed. Soon Humans will let computers run the world.
I think its a cool idea but Its soo much of a risk at the same time.
Yes scientist will prove it to be safe or not..but its too much of a risk anyways.

September 20, 2008 at 3:19 PM  
Blogger Devin Powell said...

Devin Powell
Period 4

I think that the ideas presented in the article are great concepts, but realistically can only be presented as ideas for the moment. The human mind is incredibly complex, and would take many decades to study for thought-processing technology. There are many factors to be considered: how accurate studies of the brain are now, how our emotions play into our thoughts, which thoughts can be deciphered and which cannot...the list is nearly endless. There's also the matter of the budget it would require to make these ideas into realities. Perhaps many decades in the future we can use studies of the human brain to bring these theories into our grasp, but for now let's use most of the government's budget for present day priorities, such as education.

September 20, 2008 at 5:22 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This idea seems dumb.
Yeah, it would help defeat more foes and have more accuracy, but it would just give more people advantages to take over the world.
People are getting greedier each day and this type of technology would make it so much easier for them. so, my answer is no.
I strongly think they shouldnt make this type of technology.

September 20, 2008 at 6:18 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

mae alvidera
pd 4

This idea seems dumb.
Yeah, it would help defeat more foes and have more accuracy, but it would just give more people advantages to take over the world.
People are getting greedier each day and this type of technology would make it so much easier for them. so, my answer is no.
I strongly think they shouldnt make this type of technology.

September 20, 2008 at 6:18 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

ronney burgos
period 6

I think this idea is a good start but i dont think its gonna work in the long run.alot of things run through your brain and you cant stop it from happening.that and what if a enemy pops up out of no where and your brain doesnt react in time you can die. i think instead of wasting peoples money they should train people to b perfect shooters and to master there wepons instead of making things complicated where if you cant think in time you die.

September 21, 2008 at 9:36 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I don't know what to say is a bad idea & good. Bad, because the U.S. is going through a money problem. They want to speed money on "thought helmets" when we can use that money to help use with our economy. Good because while you are on war you can communicate with your budd without talking but thinking. My point is if you want to speed money on something that is going to affect the economy don't do it at all.
Grecia .A. Santiago
P.1

September 21, 2008 at 11:53 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Kyle Snead Per2

I Believe that it is not a good idea because in the long run it might hurt The Soiders brain. Also that Soilder could have had a bad night the other night and got drink that night and his brain is fuzzy and thinks his team is the bad guys. Also his team could have been Joking With him one day and he remembers it and he thinks of doing somem thing bad and his Hun turns around and shoots his teammate.

September 21, 2008 at 1:53 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think the idea is great because how long and how developed our technology has become but at the same time its not because what if you get mad at somebody at the heat of a battle and you think about shouting him at the time. What if that happens its kind of not your fault because of technology.

September 21, 2008 at 2:24 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

think this new idea is good. I think it makes sense what they're saying because you cant really criticize it since it's the soldier controlling it. One problem with it though is it what if enemy soldiers mess up their communication signals. Or what if a soldier gets wet and gets electrocuted from the device. Overall though it's not a bad idea.I just hope we don't end up paying for it with our money.


from michelle in your 5th perido

September 21, 2008 at 2:25 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jorge Claudio
Period 5

I think that is a bad idea because you can't never tell when the "Helmet" might go wrong. I mean this could be like those kind of movies that they make an invention that would change peoples lives but something always goes wrong. They can't be 100% sure that they can control peoples brain waves, every mind thinks differently. I want to know why are they focusing on a mind controlling device than trying to focus on a attack or something more important.

September 21, 2008 at 2:32 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

beatriz fraga-gomes
P2

I think that the concpet of being able to communicate without others hearing you or be able to tell secret imformation without others hearing you is great. But realisticly this idea is "bogous." First of all it would be extremlly complex to try and teach someone in the miltary how to use the helmet. I mean not only do they have to know how to use it but must also know that you always have to think loudly and be able to think useing terms that everyone knows, and that you must always think with proper grammer so others can understand what your thinking. Do you really think while your being attacked or your attacking someone that your gonna be able to think clearly? the answer is probably no, and instead people will probably get confused and/or distracted and might screw up something which could result in yourself or someone else getting hurt or even dying. overall i personally think the invention of this product is a a bad idea. i think if the scientists do go along and make this helment that it would only cause more destruction than re-construction of the war.

(:

September 21, 2008 at 2:33 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Javier Suarez
Pd.2

This is cool but yet just a waste of time. Yeah it will be cool to be able to communicate without saying a word or lifting a finger, but is that really necassary right now? Our economy is bad and I think that we a have too many things to worry about than mind-control war. So my answer is basically no, or not yet anyway.

September 21, 2008 at 2:40 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Imani Walters
P.4
i think it would be interesting for them to use mind control although it does seem a little crazy it still might work they might have issues in the future with it but if they try to figure out what they may be it may work. i like the idea but it also seems a bit crazy so they're doing it at there own risk.

September 21, 2008 at 3:03 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jullian sanchez
p4

my answer for this question is no. it may sound like a brilliant idea but there are problems that this helmet could lead to. accuracy will be alot better but what if the soldier is not sure if he wants to shoot or not. taking over the world would be alot easier but crazy people could get a hold of this tech. and do what crazy people do.

September 21, 2008 at 3:16 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Mercedes Penaroque.
Pd:2

I think it's a pretty cool idea, but however i think it could lead to many accidents. And i think that once it is made, and once people begin using it, and accidents occur. That they will regret ever inventing it.

September 21, 2008 at 4:04 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Marina DiIorio
PD. 6

I think this idea is cool but something that properly just isint going to work. Because this could cause a lot of problems its going to take a while first of all to even teach the people in the military how to use the helments and when you are using them you would always have to think straight and clearly to make sure you dont make no mistakes like on accident shoot the wrong person

September 21, 2008 at 4:17 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Shelby Lambeth
4th period


i think this idea is pretty dumb..i mean it may sound cool but what if they have a thought about something and they didnt want it to b a command then it would happen and it may not be good. Plus they could say something about their partner or something and they end up killing people of there own army..so i personally think it is dumb because anything could go wrong..they may fry someones brain if something were to go wrong..

September 21, 2008 at 5:28 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Whitney Gordon
4th period

I think this idea is crazy!! Yeah this new gun might help if u were in a helicopter; it would be better accuracy and would be easier to shoot. But I think if you give it to the soldiers on the ground it would go bad. They could be thinking about shooting someone and accidentally the gun goes off and kills one of their own men.

September 21, 2008 at 6:17 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Fahren Rivera Pd 1
SHOULD THE GOVERNMENT MAKE THIS TYPE OF TECHNOLOGY?

Although silent communication sounds useful it could also be harmful. You can think before you speak but not think before you think. If the Army used such technology they could possibly make a huge number of mistakes doing so. Hand gestures and verbal communication have worked for our benefit this long in the army I really don't think theres any need to confused everyone in such risky situation.

September 21, 2008 at 6:34 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Gabriel Maldonado
4th period
-------------

I believe that using mind-control in weaponry has both pro's and con's, It could be incredibly efficiently for things like ambush attacks and stuff.
But I think it'd bring too many problem and accidents.

September 21, 2008 at 6:44 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jordan Griffin Period 4

This is a good and bad idea. It is good because it is a big step for our country to make this type of technology. It would also a bad idea because if a innocent person pops up the first thing that the person with the helmet and the gun will think is shoot. Also we can't afford for other people besides the army/military to get it and people get hurt or die. So this idea can be good or bad depending how you look at it.

September 21, 2008 at 7:39 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Michael Sipe
Period 5

I think this is an awsome idea i mean shouting orders around could tell the enemy what you are doing and also it could give your position if the enemy does not see you and you have to stand up to give orders. so i think it is an awsome idea

September 21, 2008 at 7:47 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Starsea Rodriguez
Prd: 3

I think that the idea of having, "Thought Helmets" is bazaar. It would and would not be helpful in many ways. First, we don't know what the consequences of using these helmets. I imagine that soldiers are capable of getting brain cancer or any type of cancer, become lunatics, or even the helmet may slow down their attack speed/ defense speed. Really, to have a helmet with such advanced and important technology, it should be big, heavy, and uncomfortable. The only advantages I see of this idea are that you could communicate quietly and not blow your position. If this were to befall in the wrong hands we may be doomed. In addition, I believe that the only privacy that any human being/ soldier really has is their minds. If we were to use those helmets not only won't they have any privacy at-all, but you’re being controlled causing you not to be yourself. I proclaim this idea to be a disastrous one.

September 21, 2008 at 7:50 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Giovanni J. Lopez
3rd Period

Well I think it would be cool if they can do that kind of technology with the helmets. That would be easier to the soldiers to know what they have to do, when someone give a command. The helmet could be even better from the helmets that they are using right now. But at the same time that could be a problem, because if a soldier got shot and then some other rival put his helmet on and then his like going to know all the moves, commands, etc. My opinion is that they should do it but they have to be really carefully.

September 21, 2008 at 7:58 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Borislav Jovanovic period:1 It would and would not be helpful in many ways. First, we don't know what the consequences of using these helmets. I imagine that soldiers are capable of getting brain cancer or anytype of cancer, because lunatics, or even the helmet may slow down their attack speed/ defence speed.

September 21, 2008 at 8:20 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Amanda Fanfan
per.2
it would be a bad and good idea because one they already talk and live the army lifestely and it would be bad because most people that come back for war they go crazy and what would happen if there brains when there controled.

September 21, 2008 at 8:33 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Lina Habeych
period 4

This idea about making a helmet to control your actions is pretty crazy.Who knows what peoples intensions are.Also some scientist have said that the people using the helmets will be trained.Just because they are trained doesnt necessarily mean they will know how to handly the device properly.They can be thinking of something,but not necessarily want to put that thought into action.So if they are wearing the helmet the thought will be put into action,which might not be such a good idea.Yes it is a big step for the U.S but think about all the problems it might cause.Sticking to the technology we have now is good or perhaps something new but not as crazy as this.

September 21, 2008 at 8:36 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

joe haddad
4th

This sounds pretty insane. i Kinda like the idea of not have to think about to something. that spare second could save your life and the lives of others. But the only part i dont like is how the gun shoots based on your thoughts. lets say you get mad at one of your buddies and the brain reads shoot, and it shoots. You just killed your buddy by accident.

September 21, 2008 at 8:48 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Vanessa Cruz
Period 1

I think this is one of the most retarted thing someone can ever think of. Using this will just cause chaos because people might not know how to work the device. Also what people think might not be the actions they really want to do. So i think they should not make this type of technology.

September 21, 2008 at 9:12 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ricardo Villafane
Period 3

This is really crazy. You never know what might happen because of your thoughts. Also if they actually do all this, they are going to try to make it better and better. They are going to try to take some flaws out, they're going to add more features to it. It might get so advanced that they're going to make it control everything you do (as in walk, eat, cook or other suff like that). Then it might get out for the public to use, and thats where the chaos is going to happen. Because people will use that to do everything for them and everyone will get lazy, fat and dependent on technology that does everything for you. Just like in the movie Wall-e. Only in that movie they dont use mind control devices but what happened to the people in there is similar to what might happen.

September 21, 2008 at 9:18 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Valeria Moctezuma
Pd 3

I think that using wepons by mind control is not good because if you get mad at one of your friends all of a sudden the mind control is going to cause you to shoot the wrong person.It might be faster to kill your enemies but so many things can go wrong so people should just control their weapons manually.

September 21, 2008 at 9:25 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

gabriel de la cruz pd.4

I think it is bad to have weapons by mind control. first reason is becuase if you are mad at someone and you the urge to kill them you might fire. this can cause many problems to who ever gets their hands on the helmet. this is to crazy of an idea

September 21, 2008 at 9:57 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jeslyn Camacho
prd 6

I think this is not really a good day. Why would they want to put bugs in the technology. It could mess up and maybe hurt us. Well thats what i think about the article.

September 21, 2008 at 10:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Amanda Clayton
pd. 2

I personally think that this is a good but bad idea. It has its ups and downs. This is because , yea it would be easier for the military to communicate and not having to worry about if anybody is spying on you trying to figure out your plans. But, the downside is , what if the soldiers come home and still have that mind-set, and -just saying- really dont like a person and then without giving another thought about it , wanted to shoot them or something and just think that once and boom... that's the end of that person's life. I also think that overtime using mind-control to use weapons... could possibly lead to an international down falling somehow.This is pretty much why I think that weapons should be used manually.

September 21, 2008 at 10:02 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Roger Gray
Period 2

I personally think this is a wrong thing to do. We have a brain and a mind to kill so we shouldn’t use this weapon for that same reason so many people can be killed just by thinking it out of anger and rage. Its a cool idea but have they really thought of what this thing can do. Someone using it can be having hard thoughts and then it can cause stress on the machine which can shut down and it could be totally be totally worthless or it can cause them some sort of brain damage. There are so many things that can go wrong like if you are mad at one of your fellow army men for what they said and u think he should die for it then the gun can pick up on that sense and automatically shoot over something you might have forgiven your partner for any way. You could have to guard the president and the gun starts shooting because u are thinking about killing him or someone it goes off on him and u therefore You have to go to prison for life or be executed. This new technology is very dangerous and to unstable to be thought about using they should instead think of something better to use and spend their money on the economy.

September 21, 2008 at 10:14 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jose Cardona
5th period

I think the government should use this type of technology for stealth missions.Everyday we become more advance and now were just going to talk to each other with our minds.I think that the government should create this kind of technology for the purpose of being more advance than other countries.

September 21, 2008 at 10:18 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Loren Forestier
4th period

I think it's a bad idea, basing the persons weapon on their mind. It could go wrong because based on that persons feeling the gun would shoot, imagine you wanting to harm someone just cause they annoy you, would that work out? NO! So why should we even try to test this technology with so many setbacks? It's a waste of our already decreasing in value money.

September 21, 2008 at 10:30 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Daniel Amezquita
2nd Period

I think that exploring this technology can be extremely beneficial. Like the article explains, the uses of it, are not limited to the military and could be used to help the common people. However I think that the tests done before the field tests of the product must be extremely thorough. Because if anyone simply gets mad at another person it isn't rare for someone to simply want to kill someone but with this technology, just that simple thought could be deadly.

September 21, 2008 at 10:52 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Alex Serna

Period 4

This is very outrageous, I do not support this project because of many reasons. First, the human brain thinks about so many things in the matter of seconds and it will be impossible for the technolgy to figure out what you really want. Also, tempers fly between eacother and what if one person is thinking about killing their own man, and it decides to shoot and you kiil your own man. But, you know if you were to have been in control you would never actually friendly fire. Everything has ups and downs but, on this specific project I believe there is more setbacks.

September 21, 2008 at 10:56 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Michael Castilloveitia Period 3 I think that they should have it because,what if your standing in front of your friend in war and u get mad n you wished you could kill him or say something like that.Then the gun will end up killing him when u realy didnt mean to.so i think their will be to many accidents.and we dont need to lose anymore soilders.

September 21, 2008 at 11:06 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

[emily barnard]
pd. 4... the BEST!!!

aritey i think its good and bad....
theres no way ...i dont care what scientist say.... that you could control your thoughts. your thoughts are kinda like your feelings you cant help how you feel... also what if the person is in a bad mood and they think something they dont mean... peoples thoughts are private... you kno the expression "think before you speak" so yea.. and also if it does happen i think the military should be the only ones to have it because us, who have no scientist to help us control our thoughts,cant decide if we want a red poweraid or a blue poweraid for lunch... but then in a way if it could all work out it would be good for the MILITARY because then instead of having messengers who could be 2 faced... you could just think... but i think i stand on the side of it being a bad idea...

September 21, 2008 at 11:10 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Amanda Figueroa Period 5 I think that it is not a good idea because,your mind moves faster then your finger,and someone can get hurt fatser.Also to spend so much money on something that is realy unnecessary,when we can use the money on something better like a new airplane,or tank.So we should just do it the old way instead.Its safer.

September 21, 2008 at 11:17 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Desiree Reid
4th Period

I personally think mind controlling is pretty awesome. Sometimes it can get a little out of hand if you don't know what your doing. For a helmet to read you mind when you want to shoot a gun is cool and dangerous at the same time. The soldier could end up having mixed emotions and the helmet would then get confused and probably shoot at the soldier. Therefore, creating this special helmet needs to be thought of twice.

September 21, 2008 at 11:20 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Mr. Wilson
This idea of having military mind control is almost around the boarder-line of insantity section of my mind. You I thought this would be completely out of the question but then I had some questions. Like why think this would not cause more crime or problems in the war or even in the U.S? Would they be able to aim the gun with their minds also? Also others along those lines. This is what I found out. There are good and bad advancements that the government has chosen to do and I feel as though possibly this may not 100% be one of those.
This idea is some what farfetched and somewhat improvised somewhere along the way. But it does have positives that come with this interesting package. You let say you are in war and it’s depending on you verses this other soldier mind power is a full 4 milliseconds faster than pulling the trigger. Or lets say you are wounded in a battle and all u have is your legs. Well how would you shoot or defend your self without mind controlled weapons.
Although with every good there must be a bad. You see the main problem is that humans get angry and upset so easily. We are recorded as the almost the most developed emotional species on the planet. Lets say you at war again and your standing in formation awaiting inspection and finally when its your turn you stand so eager and happy but you listen and hear your getting pointes deducted. Well you get mad hot headed or sad and you brain has mixed emotions cause different frequencies on which the machine would react to. Either the machine reactions and misfires, or it could not fired at all, and it could also be over-rided data wise and shut off all controls.
One more thing mr. Wilson is I they do make this “dream” o theirs come true you know it would just be a matter of time before someone gets their hands on it and copies data files or even the engineering of it to create their own and sell it to other people by inputting it into common house hold items. It would blow up as much as apple ipod did!!
Thank you
Margaret Hertel 3 period

September 22, 2008 at 5:57 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

walter hueck
period 2
This idea does seem kind of cool i'll admit it. Although i don't think it would be right to make something like this. This could turn into a dangerous thing at some point. Think about it now that you got something that helps move things with your mind what else could you do with it. How do we know that the thought being read by the helment is a good one. All I'm saying is it might be a bad idea.

September 22, 2008 at 6:37 AM  
Blogger Kevin Quintana said...

Well i think the goverment shouldnt, cause it meant injure a whole army or even more people and thats not a good thing,And cause they have a way already to communicat,and they souuldnt change it..........

September 22, 2008 at 8:13 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

nicholas gonzalez
period 2


i think that this would be so smart to do , alot of people can get hurt on accident . because during a war u can get cranky and make wrong decions and hurt someone . i think that this would be good in vehicles because you have to think faster while driving or flying . i think that they shouldnt do it .and plus it would be very expensive to do this.

September 22, 2008 at 6:58 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Mary Ann Woodyard
6th period



I think that this is unique and different. But i don't think that they should waste their money. it also could injure a whole army or even more people. so the shouldn't do it .It would cause too much money

September 22, 2008 at 10:42 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I believe this is a great idea for citizens. Also i think there should be the patients decision. Only if the family has came to a for sure decision then that patient should have the right to pull the plug. Pulling the plug is alot better than suffering the rest of your life. I believe that this is a very smart and good choice for both the patient and the family members and friends. I'd believe in this.

September 29, 2008 at 10:32 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This one of the most important blog spots ever. I believe this will lead to another cold war and that could prove devistating. This war may be good for the economy though. It could also prove bad by the U.S making bad investments into weapons. All i know is that this is going to be very anticipated by all.

October 5, 2008 at 5:22 PM  

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