Applauding cyborgs?

Sandra yawns and stirs under her warm duvet. If only she did not have to get up and start writing her essay! But then she remembers: thanks to her neuralRelating to the nerves. implant, she only has to think about it. So she lies back while her computer bleeps into action: "World War Two started because..."

This fantasy could become reality after Elon MuskA South African-born entrepreneur whose companies have included the online payment service PayPal.'s latest announcement. On Monday he tweeted that a microchipA very small piece of material containing electric circuits that hold lots of information. named Telepathy had been successfully implanted in someone's brain. It would, he said, "enable control of your phone or computer, and through them almost any device, just by thinking".¹

Neurons are cells in the brain which send signals to other parts of the body, such as the muscles and the nerves. Telepathy is designed to read these signals. It is placed in the part of the brain that plans movements, so someone can operate a computer or phone simply by intending to move.

The word "cyborg" is a combination of "cyber" and "organism". It means someone who is partly human and partly a machine.

Here are some reasons why cyborgs may be a good thing:

Paralysis panacea Telepathy should allow paralysed people to move their bodies using their thoughts.

Mental massage Implants could be used to combat mental-health problems such as depressionLow mood that affects someone's daily life, and can last for weeks or months..

Data delivery Collecting data from people's brains will be very helpful to scientific research.

Hands-free happiness Using implants to control devices would mean not having to carry a laptop around.  

Communication innovation Implants might actually make telepathy possible.  

Rehabilitating robots Countries with a shrinking workforce need robots to make up for the labour shortage.² But there are worries about robots taking humans' jobs. Cyborgs would solve this problem by having the appearance of humans but the efficiency of robots.    

Should we be glad?

Yes: This could be the start of a medical revolution. Telepathy offers hope to people whose conditions have seemed incurable up until now - including those who cannot move and those who cannot see.

No: Our human identity is the most precious thing we have and should not be compromised by mixing it with machines. Neural implants could be hijacked to allow other people to control our bodies.  

Or... To some extent we are already cyborgs, since we use many inorganic things to help our bodies, from spectacles to artificial limbs. Telepathy is simply the next step in this direction.