Perhaps my grandchildren will think differently, but I can't really get excited about telepathy. I'm sure that it will be possible; however I don't see the advantage in it. I have never wished that my thoughts could be open to someone else. I'd probably think something disturbing just because I was trying not to think something disturbing. WTF is wrong with us?Patrick Degenaar at Newcastle University in the UK says that the military might one day be able to deploy genetically modified insects or small mammals that are controlled by the brain signals of a remote human operator. These would be drones that could feed themselves, he says, and could be used for surveillance or even assassination missions. "You'd probably need a flying bug to get near the head [of someone to be targeted]," he says.
Given that its an electronic implant and not one of the "superpower that is a gift and a curse" sort of things, I'd imagine you can turn it off. Possibly by just thinking about it - maybe if it receives the thought "I don't want people reading my mind" you'll turn off the signal or something. I doubt this will be seeing human use anytime very soon but it's rad nonetheless. . Also yeah, I don't know why people are so fucked up that their first thought on hearing about brain-to-brain communication is "awesome, we could kill lotsa people with this" and not "great, now the deaf-mute can communicate."
Although its use could quickly be trivialised or employed for shady military purposes, there are exciting potential applications for those unable to vocalise themselves due to disability or those working in loud environments like factory floors. Telepathic football teams would be pretty exciting too, Science could one day catch up with Xavi and Iniesta.
