In 2020, a paper was published called Dormio: A Targeted Dream Incubation Device. The gist of this research is that targeted memory reactivation during sleep onset can produce specific content in dreams, and this incorporation could enhance memory consolidation of that targeted content. This budding technology is considered in the field to be a window into enhanced learning and memory, or even new therapy techniques similar to prolonged exposure therapy. Of course, not long after this paper was published, Coors Brewing Company, a large beer company, began exploring the use of targeted dream incubation for advertising purposes. A lawsuit followed, but was quickly dropped due to fair use laws.
Is it worth it to create a
means for corporations’ greed and manipulation if it also has positive uses?
Sometimes it feels inevitable that newly developed technologies will eventually
fall into the wrong hands. Is
there a way to prevent this?
Dormio paper: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7590944/
Article about Coors: https://www.science.org/content/article/are-advertisers-coming-your-dreams