Is information where the power is anymore?

Came across this article - AI-controlled brain implants for mood disorders tested in people - the other day and it made me think. Damn amazing: stick an implant in your head, and it can shock your brain back to normal anytime it gets out of wack. Seems pretty good for people with mental issues.

They say the chips would be "‘closed-loop’ brain implants that use algorithms to detect patterns associated with mood disorders. These devices can shock the brain back to a healthy state without input from a physician." Huh. So they'd have some AI.

Then I got to thinking a bit more. I don't know much about AI, but I know how to look at a situation and see who has the power. With this implant, that'd be whoever writes that software.

They used to say information was power, but nowadays maybe we have too much information. We got so much we can't tell the shit from the Shinola. If you can't tell what information is real, well then...seems like the information maybe ain't where the power is anymore.

And then, if I can change, even a little bit, how you react to information, that changes everything. I reckon it's the algorithm; that's where the power is nowadays.

That got me to reflecting. I've been on earth a while. They got a lot more mental disorders nowadays than they used to. They keep getting better at spotting the signs, and they keep discovering new ones.

I don't know about you, but damn near everyone I know's got something wrong with 'em, if you talk to 'em long enough. Maybe our problems ain't defined yet, but I'm pretty sure we're all messed up at least once in a while.

Seems to me if they start having implants, and having more disorders, and start putting in more implants, pretty soon we could have an awful lot of people with their brains being tweaked.

And that's where things get interesting. If I'm the one tweaking that algorithm, well...there sure are a lot of things I could do. I don't mean like drastic stuff. Naw, that's too easy.

Me, I'd program that AI to make everyone just a little bit more agreeable. Maybe make 'em a little more accepting of what comes to 'em. You know, level 'em out.

Yeah, that'd sure make life easier for me.