Mr. Beauchamp-Mustafaga argues that war is evolving from land, sea, and air into the “realm of the human mind,” with military brain science (MBS) now looking at how to attack the brains of combatants, rendering them harmless.
MBS currently takes a variety of forms, including chemical weapons, biological agents and directed energy.
According to James Giordano, a professor at the departments of neurology and biochemistry at Georgetown University Medical Center and chief of the Neuroethics Studies Program at the Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics, these weapons can disturb individual cells through to societies.
Directed Energy Weapons use electromagnetic energy similar to items, such as microwaves, but with much higher output. The range of weapons includes high energy lasers, high power microwave weapons and millimetre wave weapons.
But, MBS is also at the top of the investment list of scientists funded by the Chinese National Natural Science Foundation, and recent research shows that Chinese academics are well on the way to hacking this new arena.
Controlling Thought in War
A U.S. report by the CCP Biothreats Initiative titled “Enumerating, Targeting, and Collapsing the Chinese Communist Party’s NeuroStrike Program,” (pdf) has revealed that China has already created a new type of neuro strike weapon that causes neurological issues and impedes the way soldiers think.China introduced a no-contact warfare strategy in the late 90s, and in 2014 their three warfare strategy was developed. This used psychological, media, and legal warfare tactics in order to manipulate popular will, control public opinion, and utilise legal battles to achieve its objectives.
An example of this was seen in the South China Sea strategy tactics, which included claiming ownership of disputed territories, using propaganda, and employing international arbitration.
China is now also looking to thrive in brain sciences stating that its goal by 2030 is to be a leader in the field. Five neuro-technological products are also being jointly researched by Cuba and China.
China Technological Progress Unknown
However, little is known about how advanced China has become in MBS. According to a Washington Times article in 2021, three reports have shown that China’s research into brain weaponry has been underway for a number of years.One of the reports titled “The Future of the Concept of Military Supremacy” states war has changed its focus away from destroying assets to simply rendering them unusable.
“War has started to shift from the pursuit of destroying bodies to paralysing and controlling the opponent,” the report reads.
Elon Musk’s Neuralink has already designed a BCI named the Link to assist people with disabling conditions.
Neuralink’s device has been designed to treat conditions like blindness, paralysis, and depression, according to Musk. While Neuralink released a video in 2021 showing a monkey typing on a computer telepathically, they are still a way off from having a fully developed product.