Soldiers to 'control guns with their minds'

British scientists, god bless their warmongering ways, have said that troops could control weapons systems simply by using their brains.

Apparently the Armed Forces could harness the rapid advance of neuroscience (which is helping people with brain damage) to improve the training of soldiers and pilots to kill.

Devices called brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) would connect soldiers' brains directly to military technology such as drones and weapons.

The study, published today, stated that the work built on previous research that has enabled people to control cursors and artificial limbs through BMIs that read their brain signals.

The experts have called on the UK Government to be as "transparent as possible" about research into military and law enforcement applications. Which is nice.

"Since the human brain can process images, such as targets, much faster than the subject is consciously aware of, a neurally interfaced weapons system could provide significant advantages over other system control methods in terms of speed and accuracy," the report states.

"Neuroscience will have more of an impact in the future," Prof Rod Flower, chair of the report's working group told The Telegraph.

"People can see a lot of possibilities, but so far very few have made their way through to actual use. All leaps forward start out this way. You have a groundswell of ideas and suddenly you get a step change. If you are controlling a drone and you shoot the wrong target or bomb a wedding party, who is responsible for that action? Is it you or the BMI.

“There's a blurring of the line between individual responsibility and the functioning of the machine. Where do you stop and the machine begin?"

The Ministry of Defence has not commented on the report. They have dished out a few Mr Burns "Excellent" s, though.