Page 52 - JSOM Spring 2025

Man, Hibernating Animals, and Poikilothermic Fish

The Present and Future of BCI Technology

Anna M. Gielas, PhD

ABSTRACT
In 2024 and early 2025, several successful surgeries involving In the last decade, the concept of the cyborg has gained re-
brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) gained media attention, in- newed attention, with some national security experts anticipat-
cluding those conducted by Elon Musk’s company Neuralink, ing the use of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) to cognitively
2–5
which implanted BCIs in three paralyzed volunteers, allowing and physically enhance armed forces personnel. BCIs cre-
them to control computers through thought alone. While the ate a direct pathway between the human brain and external
concept of merging humans with machines dates back to the devices enabling, for instance, a person with tetraplegia to
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1960s, BCI technology has now entered the clinical trial stage, control their wheelchair using only their thoughts. Similarly,
with a focus on restoring communication, mobility, and sen- BCIs have allowed healthy individuals to pilot drones through
7
sation in individuals with severe disabilities and neurodegen- thought. If a BCI is implanted in the brain and enhances the
erative disorders. For over two decades, BCIs have also been individual with abilities like mentally controlling drones, the
explored as tools to enhance the cognitive and physical abili- person can be considered a cyborg. However, it is important
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ties of military personnel. However, before Special Operations to note that the term is a conceptual label rather than a formal
Forces (SOF) medical staff encounter BCIs in an enhancement scientific classification.
capacity, they are likely to first come across them in medical
settings. This article provides an overview of BCI technology, The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
focusing on 1) how it works, 2) its potential significance for has been a key supporter of BCI research since the early 2000s,
injured SOF servicemembers, 3) current challenges, and 4) its while the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) and
potential to enhance SOF in the future. Army Research Laboratory have expressed interest in BCIs
since the 2010s. 8–12 Depending on the source, the arrival of en-
Keywords: brain computer interface; neurotechnologies; hancive BCI technology is expected between 2028 and 2035,
translational research; spinal cord injuries; prosthetics; with predictions suggesting that Special Operations Forces
traumatic brain injury; neuroenhancement (SOF) will be among the first military populations to adopt
it. 13–16 However, before SOF medical personnel encounter this
technology as part of their national security duties and oper-
ations, they may first come across the technology in medical
Introduction
settings since BCI applications are increasingly tested in trans-
In 1960, two U.S. scientists reflected on the ability of man, lational projects and clinical trials. This in brief article aims
hibernating animals, and poikilothermic fish to regulate body to introduce BCI technology, focusing on 1) its mechanisms,
temperature. While hibernating animals and poikilothermic 2) its relevance to injured SOF servicemembers, 3) its current
fish solve the basic yet crucial challenge of extreme tempera- challenges, and 4) its anticipated neuroenhancing applications
tures through innate homeostatic mechanisms, humans rely for SOF personnel.
on external technologies such as heating and air condition-
ing. Manfred E. Clynes and Nathan S. Kline sought to change The Operational Framework of BCIs
this. They envisioned a human enhanced by biotechnology,
capable of surviving in the harshest environments, including A BCI system typically consists of three components: a sensor,
outer space. As the space race between the U.S. and the Soviet a decoder, and an external device (effector) like a wheelchair
Union intensified, Clynes and Kline introduced the concept of or a drone. 17,18 Connection is established through wireless
a human-machine hybrid, coining the term “cyborg,” short for technologies such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, or tethered connec-
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cybernetic organism. Contrary to popular belief, the cyborg tions. The sensor records neural signals, while the decoder
is not a creation of Hollywood or a character from a science processes the raw signal input, extracting so-called features
fiction bestseller. Instead, the cybernetic organism originated and translating them into commands for the effector. 18,20,21 In
from a conference paper that Clynes and Kline presented at the theory, an effector can be any device that is programmable to
Space Flight Symposium in San Antonio in May 1960. 1 receive and execute commands. For example, in August 2024,
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Correspondence to Anna M. Gielas, 81 Stock Street, Flat 0/1 Paisley, PA2 6NQ United Kingdom or amg203@cantab.ac.uk
Dr. Anna M. Gielas is affiliated with the Centre for Global Knowledge Studies, University of Cambridge (UK).

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