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Athletes like Charles Leclerc, Jannik Sinner, and Call of Duty pros may have had their brain activity data given to the Chinese government to aid the training of super soldiers.
China has regularly been one step ahead of the world when it comes to technological advancements. Tourists have been blown away by the fact that you can rent exoskeletons for pretty low prices to help you complete difficult hikes.
Well, during the September 16 episode of Pablo Torre Finds Out (PTFO), investigative reporters Torre and Sam Koppelman discussed their investigation into BrainCo. The neurotechnology company, which was founded at Harvard in 2015, received plenty of funding from the Chinese government and scientists to aid its research.
The biggest focus of BrainCo, as the name suggests, has been developing products to help with training the brain. This includes wearable EEG headbands – called FocusCalm – that supposedly help with improving focus via reading brainwaves.
CoD & League pros used brain training software too
As the investigation between PTFO and Hunterbrook alleges that this data has been given to the Chinese government. Under the updated national security laws, Chinese companies are required to share their data with the CCP, and BrainCo has done so “every half second.”
Athletes like Leclerc, Sinner, Mikaela Shiffrin, Iga Swiatek, parts of the US and Italian Olympic teams, and members of the Manchester City squad have been named as using the headbands.
Additionally, Minnesota Rokkr have also been advertised as a BrainCo partner, as well as former Immortals League of Legends coach Robert Yip.
Screenshot via Pablo Torre Finds OutA number of esports orgs and leagues are mentioned on the FocusCalm page.
“The Chinese government has made no secret of its ambitions for other applications, including military ones,” Hunterbrook’s report says.
“State media discusses “super soldiers“ with neural enhancements. The People’s Liberation Army has hosted national BCI competitions, and its medical research arm has partnered with private companies to develop BCI products for memory and attention training for soldiers.”
This also follows U.S. senators’ warning the government about the potential exploitation of sensitive neural data, saying that Chinese companies are developing “purported brain-control weaponry.”
None of the athletes involved with the report have responded, though both Rokkr’s Brian ‘Saintt’ Baroska and Yip provided testimonies for the FocusCalm device with claims of improved performance.
