A wiretap in the brainmeats

First of all, I love the idea of using cybernetics to overcome limitations; prosthetic limbs, implants for eyes and even a neural pacemaker are all incredible developments.

I also like the idea of using technology to boost our own capabilities, but there are concerns that I am worried about, and in my opinion need to be addressed before I join in on what could very well be the next step of human evolution.

Security
Humans are terrible at security, and the augmentation that I want the most is the ability to enhance my terrible memory with a cloud based database and/or simple internet connectivity.

My memory - connected directly to the internet - Awesome and terrifying in the same breath. First of all it means my life is an open book to anybody who can access either the server or my implant.

I don't have anything to hide that couldn't be obtained by say, hacking my email inbox - or simply walking up to me and asking me about it, but it still concerns me.

But reading is only half of the equation - what happens if somebody writes to my memory share without my authorization? Well the most benign being the modification of my personal preferences to align to certain brands. One of the many things brought up in this satire.

At worst it could be used to brainwash citizens, but I like to believe that our future won't be a dystopia.

Safety
This is probably the easiest to prove to me - show me a high quality study involving a large number of people over a good amount of time; With a sample that includes a large number of ages to account for neuroplasticity.

Lets face it - implants are not going to be perfect when they come out; Plastic and metal degrades over time, and you need to power it somehow, quite possibly involving toxic chemicals. I do not want any sort of modern battery sitting among my brain meats, waiting to leak.

Other concerns for safety involve environmental factors such as proximity energy sources, and by extension the resilience to electromagnetic interference. Losing the wi-fi connection when somebody turns on a microwave is ok; having the implant fry (and thus, at minimum, requiring invasive surgery to fix) is not.

Lifespan
This follows on from safety - if I ever have to have my skull open once, except under exceptional circumstances, the implant is a no-go. Surgery is hard on the body - and there are many risks involved with brain surgery in particular.

Not to mention that any major change to an implants functionality would require an adjustment period proportional to a user's age.

I also do not want want to be the victim of a product recall, or the iphone effect - where a given implant is eclipsed by a new one before the end of the next year.

And if planned obsolescence becomes the practice of implant manufacturers... well that's an entire new basket of cybernetically-enhanced land-fish; but it is NOT good at all.