Open any issue of Technology Review and look for cutting-edge research in any weird field. Chances are that it has been sponsored at some stage by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency or DARPA. For instance, years ago the Agency helped start the entire field of artificial intelligence, as well as the Internet. There are many feathers in its hat. The current issue of MIT’s magazine of innovation contains an article by Gregory Huang entitled “Mind-Machine Merger.”[1] The research into the interface between brains and machines will be of value to those using artificial limbs, and perhaps even the victims of Alzheimer’s disease, whose memories could be placed on chips, but that is not the only reason DARPA is behind this multi-million-dollar initiative. The effort may also yield hardware and software to help soldiers pilot remote vehicles and guide robots through “hazardous” environments by using only the power of their minds. And why is the Agency so much more in the open than ever before? Because America is at war. No holds are barred since September 11, 2001. But this is not where I wish to go at the moment. After all, this is an homage to DARPA. Military research has led humanity forward since the very beginning. No surprises here. But such research nowadays does not shy from spillovers and trickle-down effects of all kinds. It encourages them, too, if for no other reason, then because everything is intertwined with everything else. Perhaps we are slowly evolving, in spite of all the signs to the contrary?

Footnote

1. Technology Review, Vol. 106, No. 4, May 2003, pp. 39-45.