Memory is easily one of the most precious facets of any individual’s life. Memory is the culmination of life experiences, both the good and the bad and is unique to every individual alive. For many people there are memories that they would be happy to forget, while there are others who wish they had different memories, or better ones. However, for the average person that concept eliminating bad memories or creating better ones is a matter of wishful thinking and the popular concept of modern science fiction. One such story is "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale” by Phillip K. Dick, which has inspired two films, both, titled “Total Recall,” one in the 1980s and one in the current decade. This story is set in the future focuses on memory and whether it can truly be trusted; what is the substance and truth of memories when those memories can be changed, manipulated, added and subtracted? It probably still sounds silly to many people, but there is a great deal of research that has been and continues to be dedicated on how to manipulate, alter or create memories (Weintraub 1). More importantly that research has had successes and has a promising future. What are the potential consequences of that technology? Are those consequences more likely to be malevolent or beneficial? The reality is that such technologies could easily exist within the current generation. However, there are many who support and deny the necessity of such technologies. After considering its implications and applications that this is a dangerous technology that if misused could lead to warped senses of reality, where fact and fiction are nearly indecipherable.
In the story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale,” Douglas Quail is a low-wage worker and average married man. He has been drawn to travel to Mars, which is now in the process of being colonized. REKAL is a company that specializes in memory manipulation technologies that allow people to take a vacation via implanting memories of a wonderful time that they had without ever actually traveling anywhere. Quail decides this may be the closest he will ever really get to Mars so he signs up for such a “vacation.” However, when the company attempts the procedure, something goes wrong. Apparently, Quail has already had his memories altered and therefore the ramifications of a secondary procedure could have unforeseen outcomes. From there on there is a question of whether he is the interstellar agent or a man who is living off of a false memory. Throughout the course of the story Quail, like the reader, are no longer sure which memories are the true memories; is he who he thinks he is or is he someone else entirely that he cannot remember. This is one of the scariest aspects of this technology for many people. It could become far too difficult for people to differentiate between what are their life’s memories and which are those that are changed or created (Villeti 1). The question to ask is, with the implementation of such technologies, will anyone be who and what they think they are? This is a threat to an individual’s sense of self and autonomy.
The idea of manipulating memory or inspiring memories of events that never occurred is not something that came with the modern technological era. It has been a consideration by the field of psychology for many decades now (Weintraub 1). Psychiatrists have and may continue to cause certain vulnerable patients to experience memories they may never occurred, sometimes by using hypnosis to open them to suggestion. A good example can be found in the number of adults who, while under a psychiatrists care, recover lost memories of things their parental sexual abuse and, even, being part of ritual torture and sacrifice with cults of devil worshippers; these events never actually happened to this patient. There were many people throughout the 1980s and 1990s who now carry horrifying visions and memories of horrifying events that never happened to them. That being said having memories changed, altered or developed away from the truth can have a profound impact on individuals ability to distinguish fact from exaggerated or false memories, which then can affect them throughout their lives (Vitelli 1). The technology in Dick’s short story could contribute to a great deal of negative side effects. What is more disturbing with the ability to change and manipulate memory is there is no way to ever know for sure if such a procedure was done voluntary or against their will. Meaning that people’s memories would be forever at the hands of those who control this technology and that is dangerous.
There was a recent experimental study done regarding modern technologies available allowing one to literally implant memories. These two MIT scientists, Steve Ramirez and Xu Liu, were able to prove that it is possible to manipulate brain cells that code for specific memories and change them; as explained 2014 article, “Meet the Two Scientists Who Implanted a False Memory Into a Mouse,” for Scientific American. They were able to convince a mouse that it had received shocks when placed a box with a black floor. When placed in the box it clearly remembered the “previous” negative experience and froze in fear. However, the mouse had never had the experience, but the scientists were able to make it believe that it had (Noonan 1). Another study is developing technological chips that can be used to simulate and stimulate cells in the brain that have been damaged or are inactive. These implants would reenergize memory; it could also be used, it is suggested, as a means to enhance the long term memories of humanity overall (Cohen 1).
In fairness, the other side of the argument, those who support the development and implementation of such technologies because of the positive applications it could have also argue their case. For people who suffer from memory issues, like those with diseases like Alzheimer's disease or people brain trauma this research is important. There are implications that such technology could be used to ease the memories of military veterans who struggle with horrid memories and treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD (Weintraub 1). It could offer people the opportunity to travel to far-off places and experience them as surely and clearly as if they had actually traveled could be highly appealing to some people. Finally, one of its most significant and beneficial applications is that it could be used to free people of the kinds of memories that can cause a lifetime of hurt, depression and damage to quality of life. For example, the memories of a child that has been abused could be erased or overwritten; in these contexts the use of memory manipulation and implantation could be considered beneficial (Lu 42). There are people who are eagerly awaiting and will easily accept any and all convenience and endless evolution of technology. They do not fear that technology, as with the topic of altering and manipulating memories, and do not see the negative and unforeseen consequences of such acceptance.
Some people may be eager to accept the potentials of this kind of technology, but when one weighs the positives against the negatives, the negatives far outweigh the positives. The power to manipulate memories is a dangerous power to have. It is a technology that could too easily descend into chaotic warping of reality for mass members of the public (Cohen 1). This is not the only serious issue to consider when it comes to the development of such technologies. Human societies, among almost all cultures, are becoming more and more dependent upon technology to assist them in their day-to-day lives. By encouraging people to engage in manufactured memories that it would discourage them from actually doing them. Why go sky-diving if I can just remember that I did? Why spend the time and energy to actually go on a trip across the world when I can just remember as if I had? Why do anything when it is far easier to sit stationary while memories are simply downloaded? Human beings are already becoming less and less self reliant and more and more dependent upon their technology. This technology, as in Dick’s short story, would now provide people with technology that will take their vacations for them as well. It could, as stated, easily lead to a point where people will never be able to distinguish between when they are out and about and when they are stationary being implanted with memories.
While Dick’s story inspired the two films “Total Recall,” the negative potential of this kind of technology is reminiscent of another blockbuster science fiction film, The Matrix. All of society, save a few, is immobile in stasis, while their minds and lives are part of a grand program that allows technology to dictate their existence. They are not even aware that they are not truly living, but are experiencing everything through that technology. This is not that different from what could happen if people began engaging memory technologies (Vitelli 1). Philosophers will argue that reality is not necessarily a static entity. Everyone lives and interacts within it, but how it is perceived is dependent upon individual interpretations of that reality; something that can be incredibly different, even antithetically different among different people. If that is true, then defining reality is not easy; engaging in this kind of technology would only make it all the harder. Fortunately, while research and studies continue to be dedicated to the potentials of technologies in this area, yet it has not been practiced on the general public, at least not that we know of. Then again maybe they already have and we may never know for sure. That is what makes this technology so disturbing and potentially dangerous.
The kinds of technology that were once thought to be the creations of science fiction, with little practical or application in the real world, have been developed in the modern world, from tales of space travel in 19th century stories to the development of powerful computers that would be every day tools in that some modern human society that predominated the genre in the 1950s. Human beings have traveled into space and people do interact daily with powerful computers. That being said the research into memory manipulation is already being conducted and it may very likely become a reality within this era. How the world responds to that technology will determine whether its development will be remembered as positive or negative. We are our memories; it is the way that many people become themselves, learn, develop, understand the world and react in the world in which they live. If false memories or alternative memories are intermixed, then in many ways human beings would cease to be living things and become an extension of their technology; people would be just like walking machines, where software can be erased and overwritten. In the end, after reviewing available sources it becomes clear that memory manipulating technologies are dangerous and, despite having a few positive applications, is something that society should not rely upon.
WORK CITED
Cohen, Jon. "Memory Implants: A Maverick Neuroscientist Believes He Has Deciphered the
Dick, Phillip K. “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale” (1966):
Lu, Stacy. "Erasing Bad Memories. American Psychological Association Monitor. 46.2 (2015):
42. Print.
Noonan, David. "Meet the Two Scientists Who Implanted a False Memory Into a Mouse."
Smithsonian Magazine. (2014): 1. Web. <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/meet-two-scientists-who-implanted-false-memory-mouse-180953045/?no-ist>.
Vitelli, Romeo. "Implanting False Memories. Psychology Today. (2012): 1. Web.
<https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/media-spotlight/201211/implanting-false-memories>.
Wientraub, Karen. "This Scientist Wants to Steal-and Implant-Memories. National Geographic
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