Scientist Wants to Give Prisoners Fake Memories

Oh boy, grab your tinfoil hats and crank up the EMF detectors, folks! The conspiracy theorists are about to have a field day with this one.

Because some are now considering implanting memories into human brains, writes Daily Mail.

Who needs reality TV when you can have reality implants, right?

The goal of this totally-not-creepy experiment would apparently be to help rehabilitate prisoners by making them regret their crimes?

Who's Behind the Idea?

Hashem Al-Ghaili is a Yemeni scientist and filmmaker who became famous for sharing science news on social media. Born in 1990, he grew up on a farm but chose to study biology instead of farming. He got degrees from universities in Pakistan and Germany. Al-Ghaili is best known for his Facebook page, where he posts easy-to-understand science information using pictures and short videos. His page is very popular, with millions of followers.

Besides sharing science news, he also makes films. He directed a short film called "Simulation" that won awards, and he's working on a full-length movie. Al-Ghaili has also written a book and worked for science websites.

Hashem Al-Ghaili has not been prominently noted for practical scientific research or publications in academic papers. His work includes creating infographics, videos, and films that explain scientific concepts to a broad audience, rather than conducting original research or publishing in scientific journals

Inspired by the Black Mirror?

This reminds me about "White Bear" episode from season 2 of Black Mirror.

In it, a woman (Victoria) wakes up with amnesia in a world where most people are passive observers who constantly film everything on their smartphones. She's pursued by masked figures trying to kill her while bystanders just record the events.

However, there's a major twist at the end. It's revealed that Victoria is actually a convicted criminal who participated in the torture and murder of a young girl. As punishment, she's forced to relive this nightmarish scenario day after day in a justice park attraction called "White Bear Justice Park." Her memory is wiped each night, and she goes through the terrifying experience again and again as a form of public punishment and entertainment.

Imagine the scene: a bunch of wide-eyed, foil-capped individuals huddled around their crystal-protected, off-grid computers, frantically typing away on their Telegram channels. "See? SEE? We told you they were trying to control our minds! Now they want to implant fake memories! It's like that Black Mirror episode, but REAL!"

Bottom Line

To me it seems this is just hype generation, a clickbait, and an engagement farming on social media platforms. Currently, there is no scientific evidence that implanting memories in prisoners or anyone else is possible. The concept remains in the realm of science fiction and ethical speculation rather than practical reality. And even if we knew it was possible to implant them, the idea that a traumatic memory would evoke remorse or teach empathy is another baseless assumption. Many criminals actually have a traumatic past, they know what it's like to feel pain yet they still enjoy hurting others. So talk to criminal psychologists before trying to set out any mind-altering projects. Seems like a bare minimum a true scientist would do before setting out goals like that.