On Saturday 27 Sep 2008, Mani A wrote:
Research on brain tapping and variants are usually conducted in secrecy by different military agencies and almost certainly by large corporates. The former includes the CIA, FBI, certain units of the Indian military and many others. In the US, a few judicial cases relating to such activities have actually gone against the state. Such research and the equipments developed are never reported to the public and academic bodies. Exceptions include relatively lighter CIA games like the MK-ULTRA (1952-62 : officially) that was disclosed in 1975. Apart from these the few disclosures that have happened have been subjected to much counter propaganda and counter actions.
With the severe advancement in the management of vague and imprecise information since the seventies, the increase in computing power, AI, neurobiology and advances in 'brain tapping' technologies, we have a lot of reasons to feel all the more insecure. This insecurity has more to do with the essential nature of closed source software and hardware than anything else. It is too difficult even for skilled reverse engineers to pronounce completely on what they seem to see.
I already wear a tin-foil hat to prevent those pesky Martians (whom you now inform me are the CIA in disguise) from filling my brain with carnal thoughts 24x7, but what does all this have to do with Free Software?
[BTW, the tin-foil hat isn't working, I think I'll try a personal Faraday Cage next.]
Regards,
-- Raju