More has been learned about the brain in the past 10 years than the previous 50. There are currently over 400 companies worldwide working on creating new treatments for brain illness and the same knowledge about how the ill brain functions will most likely make it possible to enhance the performance of “normal” brains, including improve memory retention and emotional stability.

The implications of brain enhancement are profound. And you can bet, that if there is a way to safely improve human capital productivity, individuals will use these new tools to work more effectively and keep their jobs. But using neurotechnology for performance enhancement will not come without protest.

Cultural concerns regarding what is “natural” will lead ethical and moral tensions around the basic right to augment oneself. Divisions will emerge across all levels of society as humanity grapples with this new way of living, impacting each nation and culture differently.

However, the reality is that we live in a highly competitive global economy. Even if it is just a small group of individuals choose to improve their mental performance, their choice will transform the basis of competition for the rest of us.

From a business perspective, it is clear the mental health is the ultimate competitive resource. It underpins the development of knowledge capital and the capacity of employees, to think, be creative and be productive. Like never before, business today depends upon the consistent, sustainable mental performance of employees.

As more people live longer and global competition intensifies, people will need to learn new skills throughout their lives. Performance enhancing neurotechnology represents the tools workers will use to succeed at continuous education. By enabling a higher level of productivity, neurotechnology represents the next form of competitive advantage beyond information technology. I call this neurocompetitive advantage.

While results like these may seem impossible, so was the idea of putting a man on the moon in the early 1900s.