Next phase of modern warfare: The development of neuroweapons that can control the human brain

 The next great theater of war is no longer just about military might or economic control. Instead, it is about control over the human brain.

This is according to the study "Neurowar Is Here," published in December 2021 by Joshua D. Gramm and Brian A. Branagan to complete their Masters of Science degrees in Defense Analysis at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.

"Great power competition has returned to the forefront of international relations, as China and Russia seek to contest America's global leadership," wrote Gramm and Branagan. "This contest is ultimately a battle… to manipulate and control both adversaries and domestic populations alike. The battle for influence begins and ends in the human mind, where reality is perceived."  

According to the study, neuroweapons target the brain or central nervous system, manipulating the mental state, capacity and behavior of their targets. The authors argue that mass media is hiding this ongoing battle for control of people's minds and thoughts, making it all the more terrifying.

They identified neuroweapons as the weapons of this battle, "that specifically target the brain or the central nervous system in order to affect the targeted person's mental state, mental capacity and ultimately the person's behavior in a specific and predictable way."

This reality has been understood by military analysts and technologists since at least the year 2000. This is when the European Parliament's Panel for the Future of Science and Technology published a study on crowd control technologies and when the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) announced new policies on the use of non-lethal weapons and the use of radio frequency and directed energy weapons which can manipulate human behavior in unprecedented ways. These developments gravely concern Gramm and Branagan.

"The greatest concern is with systems which can directly interact with the human nervous system," warned Gramm and Branagan. "The research undertaken to date both in the U.S. and in Russia can be divided into two related areas: individual mind control and crowd control."

Ban on neuroweapons only way to safeguard humanity

Gramm and Branagan argue that the only way for these kinds of neurowarfare technologies to be prevented from being used on a wide scale on the global public is by banning them. But the only way to ban these neuroweapons is through massive public support that could lead to research on them being declassified.

However, the lack of international agreements banning the use of neurotechnologies for remote control of human nervous systems has alarmed the pair. An international agreement that will ban the use of neurotechnologies that could control human brain activity is the biggest goal.

Without such an agreement, more and more questions about the future of these neurotechnologies will be left unanswered, such as who will control them and how they will be used.