Mind Crime

By TE Mark – Writer (Mark Thomas)

13/03/2025

THE PRICE FOR PLEASURE

Even with your literary talents, you are, for the moment, unable to describe the feeling – standing there on your penthouse balcony looking out over the harbour. The sun – the glistening bay. The luxury yachts – the club. On the other side, beyond the indoor lap-pool and adaptive environment tennis court – out through your two-storey windows – the eastern mountains. More, indescribable beauty.

In the middle, Aya and Darya, bikini clad future neuroscientists (talented, multi-disciplined and intellectually challenging) are ready for the beach – patient, caring for you and all your needs, playing an immersive video game. Starships chased by tri-winged Warbirds fly through. Lasers. Anti-fermion torpedoes. Ultra-tech is everywhere.

The football pitch sized apartment is a sumptuous display of hedonistic extravagance gracefully embellished with futuristic novelties. This one may have cost you, but can you truly put a price tag on pleasure?

You head inside for a cappuccino – maybe another glazed croissant when the windows start pulsing red. All around you – flashing like warning lights at a train crossing.

You spin. And watch the girls, the sofa pit – their game and starships vanish. The tennis court, pool, bar and mountains to the east – gone. You turn back to the bay, the harbour and yachts and the club you and the girls danced in before heading back for a night only your personal creative genius could ever conjure. All of it… dissolving into bits.

THE TRUE PRICE HAS ARRIVED

How they tracked you is, for the moment, a mystery. Were they tapping your IoT connection? Didn’t the salesman at NeuroTEK say the encryption was beyond any tech the cops had? Or, more likely, was it your girlfriend who’d figured out why you’ve been missing work? Why you cancelled last night’s date – and the three maybe four before that.

Jealousy showing its evil snarl. Could she really have gotten jealous of something like this? Something that, in XR, Extended Reality only happens… in your head?

All you know, now that you’ve opened your eyes in your affordable garden flat with mismatched furniture and your XR-BCI headset with the eye-tracking lenses flashing, is that the police are there to arrest you. And your Neuroadaptive Virtual Experience is regrettably only a memory you’ll cherish while you await sentencing…. for Mind Crime.

IT’S TODAY’S TECH AND TOMORROW’S

First, let’s cover some relevant terminology. Help you get through this highly informative piece while equipping you for that next dinner party you’ll spend with your developer friends – make you sound smart, more tuned-in – less the Luddite tagalong they’ve grown to tolerate.

XR – Extended Reality. This is an umbrella term for any technology that alters reality by adding digital elements to the physical or real-world environment. This includes:

AR – Augmented Reality, VR – Virtual Reality, and MR – Mixed Reality.

BCI – Brain Computer Interface. I’m disinclined to go textbook, that is Wikipedia on this one as I believe you can grasp from the name it has something to do with interfacing or connecting your brain to a computer.

Though the lit tends to describe this as a one-way neuro-tech – you controlling a computer or robotic limb with your mind, the reverse opportunity seems obvious. And there is also room in-between: Using the computer’s functionality to enhance or augment an internal experience either for academic or scientific research – or for entertainment.

UNIVERSALLY COMMENDABLE USES

There are and will be uses everyone will favour without the usual, bullet pointed concerns for privacy, perversion, indolence, free will, or a descent into an Orwellian dystopia with thought monitoring, control and… Mind Crime.

“BCI has the potential to improve the quality of life and find applications in various areas such as rehabilitation, navigation and home control, to name a few.” (Varun Kohli et al)

Only a few would find fault with using an available technology to help people. Stephen Hawking worked, wrote books and registered his political views via neuro-tech coupled with AI to the very end.

“Extended reality (XR) technology has the incredible potential to revolutionise mental health treatment and support.” Wrote Benjamin Kenwright in his paper Impact of XR on Mental Health. He did add: “However, everything has its disadvantages, and XR is no different.”

Immersive, interactive digitally altered or enhanced experiences can shape our minds and our behaviours. Expressing concerns about how neuro-technologies may affect us should not be viewed as anti-tech. Like Atomic Science, Artificial Intelligence, Social Media or Cellular Phones, we would be imprudent to ignore or discount safety concerns.

The idealistic, techno-elitists need to lighten up on the cautious pragmatists and vice versa. The more open we are to addressing contrarian views the better our chances of making a better world for everyone – while not messing it up for anyone.

MIND EXPERIENCE vs THE REAL THING

Let’s drop back a bit – leave the technology and look at the ethical and moral issues.

That nice little fantasy (mental sim) you ran this morning – lying there in your hypnagogic (kind of half-awake half asleep) state next to your girlfriend or wife – the one for which she failed to nail the female lead; should you, dare you feel guilty for that? Should she, dare she or anyone hold you accountable?

We have a resident screenwriter on board – each of us – craftily creating comforting theatre for our enjoyment, memory encoding and enhanced creativity. Are we truly to be held or considered culpable for their genre explorations? Or that they choose to veer occasionally, okay regularly, into the realm of NC-17? We’re beasts; we know that. Belabouring the point isn’t going to force some quasi-pseudo possibly accelerated evolutionary change.

NOW ADD THE XR-BCI TECH

If you answered yes to any or all the above queries regarding moral accountability, culpability or even guilt for innocuous, hurting no one mental philandering, you can skip this next part. Your answers and views are noted and understood.

For those of you holding firm the belief that what goes on in our minds is morally, ethically inconsequential, push on – it’s your opinion we're after.

Would you care? Would it bother you to come home early, cleverly unannounced to find your boyfriend all kitted out with his XR-BCI on – his eyes closed, probably glazed over beneath his lids – a look on his face only DH Lawrence could describe with poetic accuracy? Knowing he’s in there with Aya and Darya – the neuroscience beach babes – truly understanding his needs in a world dynamically adapting to his emotional state granting him a seamless user experience?

Think about it. Consider it like a step, maybe two beyond coming in and catching him watching porn. No, wait. Let’s dispense with that despicable image and return to that hypnagogic thing.

Would the technological augmentation enhancing the experience for him change things for you? If so, even if you’re suddenly unsure – possibly considering joining those who answered yes above and skipped this section, is it the augmentation then? The fact that his mental experience and the imagery are more real? More refined? Like High Def compared to grainy Black & White?

Or is it perhaps…

THE INTENT

That’s it, isn’t it. Him lying there un-extended in that hypnagogic, semi-conscious state this morning; it may just have been a leftover fragment of a dream. Can’t really blame him for that.

But here – with the XR-BCI loaded up having gone in fully committed for a session of enhanced depravity: Well… it may force you, if you’re so inclined, to do a little self-examination. How secure are you? Some women, some men, accept their partner’s private intimacy – even with old fashion AV support. Some accept extramarital affairs.

And that brings an interesting question to the table: Which would you prefer? This little endeavour is in his head – and it’s safe.

You’re not sitting up all night wondering – or worrying later about diseases. And it’s doubtful he’ll fall in love with a character he’s conjured inside his head with a little technological assistance. People rarely fall in love with their porn. Though the addiction potential, like with porn will certainly be a concern.

OTHER TYPES OF MIND CRIME

What about other forms of Mind Crime? Conceivably more serious – more harmful. I’m not talking about Pre-Crime like in Minority Report with Tom Cruise stopping murders pre-cogged by three telepathic babes floating belly-up in a hot tub.

What about using AI to image what’s happening in someone’s head from the user input stream going into their XR-BCI device? Someone who’s using the extended reality tech to commit acts of terror, rape or shoot up schools. I believe we’re all in favour of law enforcement stopping mass shooters and child rapists – even if it means profiling them from their social media activity then tapping their phones.

“The convergence of these data sources with neural measurements through wearable technologies increases the complexity and scope of privacy concerns.” (Farahany et al)

If the augmentation interface technology is bi-directional, meaning the neuromorphic, computer enhanced construct is retrievable – perhaps by some ultra-tech crime division, would we willingly give away that realm of privacy with the same rationalisation we used with our email and texts? “If you have nothing to hide; why should you care?”

That seems a stretch. Not only kids spend hours fulfilling their mass killer fantasies with their SEGA or XBOX shooter games. Are we profiling them? Tapping their phones after algorithmically concluding they’re soon to commit some heinous violent act in the real world? Should we be?

Assuming we will be or are already monitoring the streaming inputs to consumer XR devices, and can image the cinematic experiences in users’ heads, what metrics are we going to use? And who’s going to decide the ever-changing variable of what wrong or potentially dangerous is?

WHAT'S 'WRONG'

“There isn’t a single entity or universal standard that dictates what is right and wrong, as morality is often subjective and influenced by personal beliefs, cultural norms and individual values.”

Morality, values, systems of governance, what’s deemed right and wrong change over time. If we’re to be judged a societal threat based on exploits we may play out in our minds using XR & BCI entertainment technology, what would our options be? What would our demands be?

We’d probably want to know who created the graph – who sorted through the wealth of philosophical, moral constructivist data and came up with the decree? Where do they sit politically?? What are their religious affiliations? How old are they? What sex – and what sexual orientation? What race? etc etc.

If I’m being evaluated for the cinema in my head, (augmented or not) creative theatre my mind may have spun out without requesting my input, there are those with belief systems I’d rather not be on the governance committee. Is there anyone who feels they should be on that committee?

That brings us to a rather profound question: Will we publish the list of things we’re not to fantasise or think about? Take a moment to ponder that prospect in application.

Then consider the possibility for abuse: We’re driven; our impulses, our decisions – whether we turn left or right – say this or say that by those insanely fast simulations we run in our minds. With the possible bidirectionality via that interface, could we one day find ourselves questioning whether that last mental sim (or thought) was even our own?

ONE MORE – BESIDES XR-BCI TECH

“Privacy risks are not confined to direct neural measurements; they can also stem from seemingly innocuous sources such as facial expressions, heart rate variability and social interactions.” (Farahany et al)

Reading into the above quote by Nita Farahany, author of The Battle for Your Brain: Defending the Right to Think Clearly in the Age of Neurotechnologies, I’d say, cautiously, judiciously and even open-mindedly, we’ve ventured into an era of paralysing possibilities.

Will we need to garner our excitement, govern our facial expressions and control our heart rate when playing Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 on our Sony PlayStation? Will we need to control our hedonistic urges when streaming data to our XR-BCIs – making sure we’ve checked the current Right – Wrong ledger put out by the local Morality Governance Committee?

THE TRIAL – THE JUDGE – THE SENTENCING

You did okay in court. Got a good judge – plead guilty and asked for mercy. Got off with a small fine, 20 mandatory rehabilitation sessions and the expected lecture. “Maybe spend a little more time with your girlfriend, Mr Edwards. It might do you both good.”

And now you sit – both of you. On the sofa on a Friday night. With your XR-Brain Computer Interfaces on and eyes closed – enjoying your time together…

AT A CARRIBEAN BEACH PARTY

…filled with dynamic beach girls and beach guys – swimming – playing volleyball – doing other things I’ll leave to your healthy imagination.

The sky is clear, the sand still warm and the waves lap with a rhythmic timing matched only by the crème de la crème of techno DJs.

Having signed the mutual consent to stream NC-17, morally objectional material document issued by the Governing Council for Digital Entertainment, this multi-player session you paid dearly for, will hopefully not end with flashing red emergency lights – and the police there ready to arrest either of you for the reputation damaging possibly career ending charge of… Mind Crime.

Mark Thomas (TE Mark – Writer)

[email protected]

13/03/2025

If you’ve enjoyed today’s post, leave a comment. You may also like my newly published (Jan 2025) book INTERFACE.

?

?