Intel & Apocolyptic Times?

Whether the world's leading chip maker will bring forth the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse or not, Intel's future course of technology is very real.

Recently, the chip making giant came forward with some striking new technology planned for our not-so-distant future: technology that is bound to stir up discussion and valid questions as to how far chip assimilation should go with its biggest fans -- humans.

Computer chips and humans have entered a rather co-dependent type of relationship over the decades: we desire increasingly smarter, faster and cheaper chips to accomplish greater, more important, and ever increasing personal tasks. Think back for a moment; the first computer occupied an entire warehouse and performed basic math functions that a cheap dollar-store calculator could now outperform. Yet today's portable smart phone has more computing power than yester-year's desktop and holds cherished contacts, personal information, photos, videos and favorite websites -- all casually carried around in a pocket. These highly personal valuables, once guarded in the center of the home, are now trusted with a phone doomed to be outdated in a few months, replaced with even more power and thus capable of swallowing even more personal information.

We know our personal data, bank accounts and top secret government files are entrusted to the protection of supercomputers. And the trust between humans and silicon is growing daily.

It seems the more we rely on computer chips, the more we entrust them with our personal data. It can therefore be seen as an important topic among leading technological industries to bridge the gap between the user and his or her silicone counterpart.

Enter a new era of interaction.

What if you could only think a command and your computer would perform it? Intel believes the technology is approaching the ability to do just that. Finger gestures brought into common use by the iPhone are leading the way for users to break the confines of the mouse, but these developments would take things a step further once again.

Harnessing your thoughts would give you access to your personal computer, television, cell phone and more electronic devices all by way of the truly wireless; your personal brainwave. "I think human beings are remarkably adaptive," said Andrew Chien, vice president of research and director of future technologies research at Intel Labs. But will people readily latch on to this new technology?

Emotiv Systems currently offers a $299 headset that uses your thoughts to control video games, so what is so unique about Intel's approach?

A sensor needs to be implanted in your brain for this next big step. Intel promises Big Brother won't be watching your thoughts. But what about little brother - as in your siblings, a hacker, someone with malicious code? Could this be the technology that finally allows us to tap into each other's thoughts?

While it seems tempting, I'd rather not know what you are thinking at this moment and I'd prefer to not give my brain cavity access to a chip. But perhaps I am turning old school at the age of 27 -- hey, where's that old calculator?