Part 1 of Bio and Neural Rights: Bio and Neural Modification Is Here

Part 1 of a 3-part series on bio/neural modification and protecting humanity: The Dystopian Future of Bio and Neural Modification Is Here and Moving Faster Than You Think

TL;DR: While the world focuses on silicon and AI, a potentially more profound and less regulated revolution is happening in biotechnology. Technologies for reading, decoding, and integrating brains with computers are no longer sci-fi—they exist now (e.g., DishBrain, advanced brain-computer interface implants). This convergence threatens our fundamental autonomy and mental privacy and policy infrastructure is lagging behind, potentially making it the least regulated existential risk today.

While AI gets most of the attention, an equally profound revolution is happening in biotechnology: neural data collection, brain-computer integration, and biological computing. These technologies are no longer theoretical—they already exist in labs and sometimes in products.

The Technology Is Already Here

Consider what exists today. Cell phones combined with the internet already provide much of the infrastructure needed for transmitting biological data. Brain imaging techniques like fMRI can capture neural activity, and machine learning has advanced dramatically in decoding what that activity means—essentially reading thoughts and storing them digitally. And, nanotechnology enables the creation of tiny electronic circuits, making brain-computer interfaces potentially small enough to go undetected.

If this sounds abstract, consider the concrete examples already in laboratories and headlines:

Dolly the sheep demonstrated the cloning of a mammal in the 1990s.

Genetically modified organisms have been in our food supply for years, proving that gene modification techniques work and can be deployed at scale.

Colossal Biosciences (founded in 2021) is working on de-extinction, using genetic engineering to bring back species like the woolly mammoth. If we can resurrect extinct animals, what else might be possible with genetic modification?

Cortical Labs created "DishBrain" in 2022, training brain cells derived from mice and humans to play Pong. This hybrid biological-silicon system demonstrated that living neural networks can compute, adapt, and be digitally interfaced. The first Google search result for Cortical Labs currently reads, "A biological cloud computing platform to build breakthrough technology, without the need for a specialized lab."

Brain-computer interfaces are already being developed and implanted.

Each of these technologies has potential benefits. However, they also show how quickly biotech is moving toward active manipulation of biological intelligence, not just digital intelligence.

Where This Is Heading

If current AI researchers start thinking in terms of biotechnology, the implications become staggering. Consider: if we're trying to create artificial general intelligence, aren't we essentially trying to replicate a brain's capabilities using silicon? What happens when researchers realize they could work with actual biological material instead?

Imagine walking into a future data center. Alongside the familiar rows of servers, you might see something else entirely: biological brain-like entities in nutrient baths connected to computers with wires, or perhaps a massive engineered brain serving as a biological processor. This may sound fantastical, but each component of this scenario is being researched today.

The technology flows in both directions. Beyond integrating biological components into computers, we're also integrating computing into biology. Some applications are genuinely beneficial—helping paralyzed individuals walk again or restoring sight to the blind. I had an uncle who was partially paralyzed for fourteen years; he could have benefited enormously from such technology.

But what happens when our brains are connected to the internet with two-way communication? Your thoughts might no longer be confined to your mind—they could be transmitted somewhere outside of your control at the speed of light. And in the other direction, your behavior, emotions, and thoughts could be influenced or controlled by an external source, perhaps by a computer running an AI model.

Should we allow a world where bioengineered brains perform computation on demand? What rights would they have—if any?

The Awareness Gap

Here's what concerns me most: biotechnology is lagging far behind in public awareness and regulation compared to other existential threats. Nuclear warfare has treaties and international oversight. Cybersecurity has frameworks and agencies dedicated to it. AI safety has become a mainstream concern with active policy discussions. Climate change has global accords and singificant public engagement.

Neural modification? Most people don't even know it's a concern.

The technology enabling wireless mind reading and potentially mind control is developing rapidly, yet our societal conversation hasn't caught up. The gap between capability and governance is widening every day.

Much of this technology operates invisibly, in the same way you can't see the signal traveling between your phone and a cell tower. There may be no obvious sign that these systems are being developed, tested, or even deployed.

Continue to Part 2: What’s at Stake