# Neural Implants Could Make Future Consequences Felt Now by Joshua Bongard > “The same neural machinery that enables us (if we so choose) to imagine the emotional or physical pain suffered by another also allows us to predict how our current choices will influence our future selves. This is known as prospection. But humans are also lazy; we make choices now that we come to regret later. (I’m guilty of that right now: rather than actually building our future robot overlords, I’m daydreaming about them instead.) Machines could help us here too. Imagine neural implants that can directly stimulate the pain and pleasure centers of the brain. Such a device could make you feel sick before your first bite into that bacon cheeseburger rather than after you’ve finished it. A passive aggressive comment to a colleague or loved one would result in an immediate fillip to the inside of the skull.” > **— Joshua Bongard**, *2016, Edge Annual Question, “What Do You Consider The Most Interesting Recent [Scientific] News? What Makes It Important?”* ## Sources and Context - **Direct Edge response and surrounding essay:** [I, For One](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/26636) — Edge published this exact passage in its 2016 Annual Question collection, *WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER THE MOST INTERESTING RECENT [SCIENTIFIC] NEWS? WHAT MAKES IT IMPORTANT?*. The response page preserves the surrounding argument and qualifications. - **Complete local collection index:** [[research/Edge 2016 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 2016 Full Quotation Curation]] — retained source-first record for the complete response cohort and this passage's promotion status. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Neurotech|Neurotech]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Consciousness Continuity|Consciousness Continuity]] - **Article:** [[articles/Technologies for Consciousness Mapping and Transfer|Consciousness Mapping and Transfer]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Organic-Synthetic Brain Atlas|Organic-Synthetic Brain Atlas]] - **Article:** [[articles/2026 Annual Report on Brain-Computer Interfaces|2026 BCI Report]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Next Interface Layer|Next Interface Layer]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Neural Interfaces and Continuity Architecture|Neural Interfaces and Continuity Architecture]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Neural Interfaces and Continuity Architecture|Neural Interfaces and Continuity Architecture]] - [[wiki/Brain-Computer Interfaces|Brain-Computer Interfaces]] - [[wiki/Neural Interface|Neural Interface]] - [[wiki/human-machine interaction|human-machine interaction]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “The same neural machinery that enables us (if we so choose) to imagine the emotional or physical pain suffered by another also allows us to predict how our current choices will influence our future selves. This is known as prospection. But humans are also lazy; we make choices now that we come to regret later. (I’m guilty of that right now: rather than actually building our future robot overlords, I’m daydreaming about them instead.) Machines could help us here too. Imagine neural implants that can directly stimulate the pain and pleasure centers of the brain. Such a device could make you feel sick before your first bite into that bacon cheeseburger rather than after you’ve finished it. A passive aggressive comment to a colleague or loved one would result in an immediate fillip to the inside of the skull.” — Joshua Bongard, 2016, Edge Annual Question, “What Do You Consider The Most Interesting Recent [Scientific] News? What Makes It Important?” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-joshua-bongard-neural-implants-make-future-consequences ```