They Really Do Want To Implant Microchips Into Your BrainMichael Snyder, Contributor They are pumping millions of dollars into researching cutting edge technologies that will enable implantable microchips to greatly enhance our health and our lives. Of course nobody is going to force you to have a microchip implanted into your brain when they are first introduced. Initially, brain implants will be marketed as revolutionary breakthroughs that can cure chronic diseases and that can enable the disabled to live normal lives. When the benefits of such technology are demonstrated to the general public, soon most people will want to become super-abled. Just imagine the hype that will surround these implants when people discover that you can get rid of your extra weight in a matter of days or that you can download an entire college course into your memory in just a matter of hours. The possibilities for this kind of technology are endless, and it is just a matter of time before having microchips implanted into your brain is considered to be quite common. What was once science fiction is rapidly becoming reality, and it is going to change the world forever. But arent there some very serious potential downsides to having microchips implanted into our brains? Of course there are. According to a recent article in the Financial Times, the pharmaceutical company of the future will include a bioelectronics business that treats disease through electrical signalling in the brain and elsewhere. Diseases such as diabetes and epilepsy and conditions such as obesity and depression will be will be treated through electronic implants into the brain rather than pills or injections. These implants will send electrical signals to cells and organs that are malfunctioning. People will be totally cured without ever having to pop a pill or go under the knife. It sounds too good to be true, right? Well, the Financial Times says that British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline is working very hard to develop these kinds of technologies. Moncef Slaoui, the head of research and development at GlaxoSmithKline, says that the challenge is to integrate the work in brain-computer interfaces, materials science, nanotechnology, micro-power generation to provide therapeutic benefit. If a brain implant could cure a disease that you have been suffering from your whole life would you take it? A lot of people are going to be faced with that kind of a decision in future years. And this kind of technology is advancing very rapidly. In fact, some researchers have already had success treating certain diseases by implanting microchips into the brains of rats. The following is from a recent Mashable article. In addition, the U.S. government has been working on implantable microchips that would monitor the health of our soldiers and enhance their abilities in the field. So this technology is definitely coming. But it must be very complicated to get a microchip implanted into your brain, right? Actually it is fairly simple. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, the typical procedure is very quick and it often only requires just an overnight stay in the hospital. Many large corporations are banking on the fact that in a world that is always hungry for new technology that most people will not be bothered by such things. For example, Intel is working on sensors that will be implanted in the brain that will be able to directly control computers and cell phones. The following is an excerpt from a Computer World UK article. Once again, this is not something that will be forced on you against your will. These big corporations are banking on the fact that a lot of people will want to get these brain implants. Even now, some video game makers are developing headsets that allow users to play games using their brain wavesrather than a joystick or a control pad. Other companies want to make it possible to directly connect your brain to the Internet. As I have written about previously, IBM is aggressively working to develop this kind of technology. The following is from arecent IBM press release. The potential benefits of such technology are almost beyond imagination. An article on the website of the Science Channel put it this way. How would the world change if you could download a lifetime of learning directly into your brain in a matter of weeks? The possibilities are endless. But so is the potential for abuse. Implantable microchips that can talk directly to the brain would give a tyrannical government the ultimate form of control. If you could download thoughts and feelings directly into the brains of your citizens, you could achieve total control and never have to worry that they would turn on you. In fact, you could potentially program these chips to make your citizens feel good all the time. You could have these chips produce a natural high that never ends. That would make your citizens incredibly dependent on the chips and they would never want to give them up. This kind of technology has the potential to be one of the greatest threats to liberty and freedom in the history of mankind. At first these implantable microchips will be sold to us as one of the greatest breakthroughs ever, but in the end they could end up totally enslaving us. So I will never be taking any kind of a brain implant, and I hope that you will not either. You can support this information by voting for it on Reddit HERE This article first appeared here at the American Dream. Michael Snyder is a writer, speaker and activist who writes and edits his own blogs The American Dream and Economic Collapse Blog. Follow him on Twitter here. 