Computer chips ahoy!

Say, "computer chips planted in the brain," and a segment of society quickly gets the heebie-jeebies. The phrase sounds like Dr. Strangelove's fondest dream. It is also the worst nightmare for conspiracy buffs.

Think of the opportunities for abuse.

The news coming out of the University of Utah this week is not the government out to get you, however. It's modern science out to help you.

With the help of University of Utah professor Richard Norman, the Cyberkinetics Inc., of Massachusetts hopes to use computer technology to help disabled people use thought to perform simple tasks such as turning on lights. Researchers have already implanted computer chips in the brains of monkeys that allow them to play video games without moving a muscle.

More wonders are on the way.

In truth, it does sound a little like science fiction run amok. And, needless to say, charting such a bold journey into the unknown does have its ominous side. Even the name of the enterprise — BrainGate by Cyberkinetics— carries eerie overtones.

But then every advancement in the world comes with a degree of trepidation. People feared Columbus would be devoured by dragons. The advent of the jet age brought on fears that breaking the sound barrier would cause airplanes to explode in mid-air. And urban legends still abound about out-of-control microwave ovens and run-away computer programs.

Still, fear-mongering aside, computer chips are now part of the universe. They are almost as common as potato chips. Dog lovers are implanting them in their animals to help locate and rescue their pets. And given the ease that criminals have in counterfeiting credit cards, checks, passports and other personal documents, computer chip implants that establish personal identity have become a serious consideration, especially for children.

Indeed, technology can at times cast a spooky shadow. Every positive advancement usually carries a negative version. Nuclear fission, after all, was supposed to save the world, not destroy it.

But the amazing benefits make moving ahead with computer technology the only real option.

In time, computer chip implants may help disabled people regain the use of their limbs as their brains re-create impulses harvested from buried memories. Researchers hope the blind will be made to see and the deaf to hear.

We encourage the chip-makers to soldier on.

People can deal with their own dark fantasies along the way.