Getting There...

Telepathy? Completely immersive VR? Permanent inclusion in the collective group mind?

We're there in under ten years.

We already know that Emory University is perfecting implants that allow stroke survivors or others afflicted with paralysis the ability to control a computer mouse with their thoughts.

We also know that retinal implants, in some research, allow visual images in pixellized form to be converted into electronic impulses to go to the brain. Right now the resolution is terrible (between 900 and 5000 pixels, depending on the study), but continuing advances could bring the total picture scanned up to VGA-quality within a few years.

So before the end of the decade, combine them. Use the same technology that allows the tiny implanted cameras to convert their data to a form the optic nerve carries, and stick the output from a computer monitor into the optic nerve. For that matter, allow the chips in the eye to continue recording the world, and feed that into the computer as a background video input. Now, you've got your favorite OS plugged into your eyeballs.

At the same time, the descendant of the little glass cones used in the Emory study replaces the computer mouse, and you can operate the computer on your retinas using the thought patterns of your brain. Continuing minaturization allows the CPU to be implanted in your body like a pacemaker, and wireless transmission to an outside server takes care of connectivity and storage issues.

Since all these technologies are already in existence, a really dedicated team might even be able to pull it all together in five years or less. Links to follow...