A Russian startup wants to create controllable cyborg pigeon drones that I’m sure will be used for good and certainly not as a part of a broader world domination scheme.
Neiry is a Moscow-based neurotechnology company that claims it has successfully tested pigeons fitted with brain implants that allow operators to influence their flight paths. In a recent statement, the company said its system delivers “mild stimulation” to specific areas of the bird’s brain, nudging it to favor certain directions while it otherwise “behaves naturally.”
Maybe I’m just weird, but I feel like you have been permanently removed from a state of natural behavior once you’ve been turned into a living RC car.
In practice, the technicians and plant tiny electrodes through the pigeons’ skulls, connecting them to a small stimulator mounted on the head. Not to get too deep into spoiler territory, I’m assuming the R&D process on this looked a bit like the one for a similar process from the recent season of Fallout.
The birds also carry a lightweight controller, solar panels, and a camera during test flights. According to Neiry, the pigeons can be deployed almost immediately after surgery and face minimal health risks.
I’ll Never Be Convinced That This Russian Startup Testing Brain-Controlled Pigeons Isn’t Evil
The pitch seems to dance around what these pigeons would actually be used for, as the company spends a lot of time talking about how pigeons are elite navigators that can travel up to 300 miles in a day without taking a break, unlike traditional drones.
The comparison to drones is not something I’m making. The company’s CEO, Alexander Panov, told Bloomberg that these things were “bio drones” that could be used for—and I say the following while doing a big exaggerated jerk off hand motion while rolling my eyes into the back of my skull—infrastructure inspections, environmental monitoring, logistics, agriculture, and search and rescue operations.
Neiry insists the project is limited to civilian applications. In a statement to The Telegraph, the company said it makes “every effort” to prevent military or concealed uses, adding that government-backed investment in breakthrough technologies is common worldwide.
Sure.
We’ll see the splattered remains of cyborg pigeons on the battlefield in about a month.
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