Remote controlled pigeons

[Cherry_Ripe]

Bird-brained China scientists learn to fly pigeons

BEIJING (Reuters) - Scientists in eastern China say they have succeeded in controlling the flight of pigeons with micro electrodes planted in their brains, state media reported on Tuesday.

Scientists at the Robot Engineering Technology Research Centre at Shandong University of Science and Technology said ther electrodes could command them to fly right or left or up or down, Xinhua news agency said.

"The implants stimulate different areas of the pigeon's brain according to signals sent by the scientists via computer, and force the bird to comply with their commands," Xinhua said.

"It's the first such successful experiment on a pigeon in the world," Xinhua quoted the centre's chief scientist, Su Xuecheng, as saying.

Su and his colleagues, who Xinhua said had had similar success with mice in 2005, were improving the devices used in the experiment and hoped that the technology could be put into practical use in future.

The report did not specify what practical uses the scientists saw for the remote-controlled pigeons.

[goldencup]

Hmmm, I wonder if they could do this with teenagers.   Seriously, it sounds horrific!

[kevvosa]

This is just plain wrong. If they started doing that with humans there would be an uproar. 

[Velvet Darkness]

I find the whole idea of this more scary than I can say.

I can see lots of 'practical uses' for removing the free will of a person and controlling them by remote to do things they would not dream of doing ordinarily and none of them are good.

I see a future where none of us know if we are the ones in control of ourselves or not.

This should be stopped now, but I don't suppose it will be.