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Read more: 鈥�Seven technologies to disrupt the next decade鈥�

Of all the ways that we have been aided by technology, forging a direct link between our brains and computers is the most intimate yet. Brain-machine interfaces (BMI) are poised to challenge our notions of identity, culpability and the acceptable limits of human enhancement.

BMIs work by eavesdropping on the electromagnetic signals generated by your brain. Invasive forms involve implanting electrodes into the grey matter or beneath the skull, and so far have been tested in a handful of paralysed people. Various groups are working on developing wheelchairs, and computers that can be controlled by brain signals alone. Krishna Shenoy of Stanford University is developing algorithms to improve the accuracy of implants for controlling a cursor on a screen. He believes BMIs will soon match or even surpass traditional ways to control computers.

Non-invasive techniques record electroencephalogram (EEG) signals along the scalp. These brainwaves have been used for playing games, steering a car and even to allow soldiers to communicate 鈥渢elepathically鈥�.

As they become more widespread these technologies will raise ethical questions. Medical ethicist Jens Clausen of T眉bingen University in Germany points out that training people to generate the appropriate neural signals to control machines might have effects on mood and behaviour, as well as memory and speech. There is also the issue of culpability. Could a future criminal blame their behaviour on an implant?

Fortunately, similar questions have been tackled in the past, says Clausen. Behavioural side effects are common in medicine. And we already have technologies where responsibility is not always clear cut. Fault in a car accident, for instance, could lie with the driver, manufacturer or mechanic.

In principle, BMIs might eventually boost mental function, such as memory, by connecting to an external information processor that augments cognition. This is ethically much more problematic, as such changes might lead to changes in the individual鈥檚 preferences and ultimately their sense of self.

One of the key questions to emerge will be how widely BMIs should be used. To what extent should healthy people be allowed to enhance their brainpower? And will they want to? Already, many deaf people have resisted cochlear implants to improve their hearing because they don鈥檛 regard deafness as a disability. Brain implants that surpass natural human limits could even create elites and underclasses. The wealthy can already buy access to expensive medical treatments, so it would hardly be without precedent.