Spy pigeons controlled by neural brain implants

[cooljethro]

So, I wanted to post this, mostly to see what people think of this in regards to the logistics or technical aspects of the story.

Obviously political discussion isn't allowed, so maybe bear that in mind with regards to Russia using them in particular? Sorry if I am stating the obvious.

Putin's scientists are creating spy pigeons controlled by brain implants

I think this is pretty terrible. Pigeons shouldn't be used in this way! Those poor pigeons...

 

[FayetheADHDsquirrel]

Scary! And sad for the pigeons.

 

[vergil96]

A sad emoji is lacking. Poor pigeons. I also wonder how effective that is.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

So, I wanted to post this, mostly to see what people think of this in regards to the logistics or technical aspects of the story.

Obviously political discussion isn't allowed, so maybe bear that in mind with regards to Russia using them in particular? Sorry if I am stating the obvious.

Putin's scientists are creating spy pigeons controlled by brain implants

I think this is pretty terrible. Pigeons shouldn't be used in this way! Those poor pigeons...

Well... consider that animal testing is often done for years before introducing it to humans. There are a handful of companies that currently ARE placing neural implants in humans to allow them telepathic control of computers, prosthetic arms, playing video games, etc... with the hope of bypassing the peripheral nervous system in the case of neurodegenerative diseases (eg ALS) or spinal cord injury (para/quadraplegia). Neuralink — Pioneering Brain Computer Interfaces

What they are doing, in this example... appears to be more nefarious in the sense of being able to control the individual. Want to create a certain type of soldier that has their fear centers bypassed, that will follow given orders without question or hesitation, that will never have PTSD, so on and so forth? You need to control them like a drone.

 

[Outdated]

I think this is pretty terrible. Pigeons shouldn't be used in this way! Those poor pigeons...

Some people will believe anything.

 

[FayetheADHDsquirrel]

I think this is pretty terrible. Pigeons shouldn't be used in this way! Those poor pigeons...

Some people will believe anything.

@Outdated Are you saying that this is not terrible or that it's not really happening?

 

[Outdated]

@Outdated Are you saying that this is not a terrible thing or that it's not really happening?

I'm saying that it's not happening and that it's simply not possible for that to happen using even the technology that we can currently imagine. The use of AI generated images in that story also doesn't lend it any legitimacy.

Aussies are world leaders in this technology and we're only able to work with insects because of the mechanical simplicity of their brains, they're almost machines to start with. It's not possible for us to do this with more evolved creatures, their brains are far too complex.

Experiment: Wirelessly Control a Cyborg Cockroach

 

[Judge]

I guess it all depends on what is actually done, and/or whether it's declassified in whole or in part to share with the public.

https://www.niwcpacific.navy.mil/Ab...nce-and-Reconnaissance/Marine-Mammal-Program/

 

[Outdated]

I guess it all depends on what is actually done, and/or whether it's declassified to share with the public.

That's about training animals to carry out certain tasks, not sinking probes in to their brains and controlling them remotely. Russia had a similar program for many decades.

 

[Judge]

Oddly enough at the moment I'm watching a new streaming media series on Peacock about an intelligence officer somehow compromised and is now a pathological spying device for their opposite numbers. "The Copenhagen Test".

Silly? Preposterous? I'm not sure....

 

[Judge]

That's about training animals to carry out certain tasks, not sinking probes in to their brains and controlling them remotely. Russia had a similar program for many decades.

That's what they say....but how comprehensive is their response ?

With our Defense Department we have learned not to assume that what they tell us officially is necessarily the whole or accurate story. Where so much is compartmentalized on a need-to-know basis only.

Something tells me while you may trust your nation's defense department, you may not trust ours.

 

[cooljethro]

Usually the military have cutting edge technology that is decades ahead of what is available publicly, so it wouldn't surprise me if this were real.

Though, of course there is no way of knowing.

But with technology available such as Musk's neuralink in humans, having something that controls a small bird brain doesn't seem too crazy to me.

 

[Judge]

Though, of course there is no way of knowing.

Sometimes it happens.

People in the know with the right security who for whatever reason discloses classified material to someone they allegedly trust. Much worse when they are "compromised" by agents of foreign powers.

 

[Outdated]

Oddly enough at the moment I'm watching a new streaming media series on Peacock about an intelligence officer somehow compromised and is now a pathological spying device for their opposite numbers. "The Copenhagen Test".

Silly? Preposterous? I'm not sure....

There are methods for completely resetting a human's values and loyalties but this is done purely psychologically and pain and torture form no part of this process. This process was developed in WWII Germany and has been used successfully by several different nations since then with varying degrees of success.

With our Defense Department we have learned not to assume that what they tell us officially is necessarily the whole or accurate story. Where so much is compartmentalized on a need-to-know basis only.

Something tells me while you may trust your nation's defense department, you may not trust ours.

Russia recently dumped it's training exercises with oceanic mammals, anecdotal evidence only but people in northern oceans have been coming across tame beluga whales that are lonely and seeking human company.

 

[Judge]

The irony in how revolutionary military secrets can be relative to science, yet how fleeting they can be at remaining a secret.

 

[Judge]

There are methods for completely resetting a human's values and loyalties but this is done purely psychologically and pain and torture form no part of this process.

Or pure avarice and political indifference. No "reset" required.

Reflecting one of our worst cases of espionage through career employee of the CIA Aldrich Ames. Eventually caught, despite passing multiple polygraph tests. He presently is serving a life sentence without parole.

It didn't help with his coming to work in new expensive cars and equally expensive clothing.

Then again his case may pale in comparison with former FBI Director of Counterintelligence Robert Hanssen. Seemed he chose to conduct espionage simply for the thrill with minor paychecks from Russia. Perplexing to think that a man's job like his could get boring. Weird dude.

 

[Outdated]

The irony in how revolutionary military secrets can be relative to science, yet how fleeting they can be at remaining a secret.

I believe this is why Australia suddenly started selling some of our military technology that had until recently been our most closely guarded secrets. We captured a couple of Russian spies, then all of a sudden we're selling our Over The Horizon Radar to other countries and we're selling our submarine drones to other countries.

I think we decided to make money from them before everyone else starts building them and selling them.

 

[Dagan]

I recall at one time, there were mentions of little drones that look like a fly or a mosquito. I guess those kept flying into those blue zap lights, so they upgraded to pigeons..?

 

[Judge]

I recall at one time, there were mentions of little drones that look like a fly or a mosquito. I guess those kept flying into those blue zap lights, so they upgraded to pigeons..?

Nano drones? Commercially available, but yes I suspect governments don't advertise their smallest ones. Ironically even a single organic bird can be detected on more modern radar systems. Though the size of the bird and environmental conditions can skew such detection.

9 Best Nano Drones to Buy in 2026: Can Fit in Your Pocket

 

[Outdated]

Nano drones? Commercially available, but yes I suspect governments don't advertise their smallest ones.

The smaller the drone the smaller it's range and flight time, but that doesn't make them useless. Adverts aimed at recruiting for the Australian Defence Forces shows them using these: