---
title: "Pentagon: New Laser Tech Can Make People Hear Voice Commands"
description: "The Pentagon is working on a laser that can beam human speech directly into people's brains, tech that could warn intruders as they approach military bases."
date: "2019-07-31"
modified: "2019-07-31"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski.md"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/pentagon-transmit-messages-laser-head"
categories:
  - "Robots and Machines"
tags:
  - "lasers"
  - "military technology"
  - "the digest"
---

# Pentagon: New Laser Tech Can Make People Hear Voice Commands

![The Pentagon is working on a laser that can beam human speech directly into people's brains, tech that could warn intruders as they approach military bases.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/pentagon-transmit-messages-head.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: U.S. Marine Corps\</em\>*

## Zappy Brain

The Pentagon is working on a weapon that uses lasers and plasma to transmit sound files, even human speech, directly to individual people at great distances.

That's according to [a story](<https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2019/07/19/pentagon-scientists-are-making-talking-plasma-laser-balls-for-use-as-non-lethal-weapons/>) by the *Military Times* newspaper, which reports that military researchers are working on ways to use lasers and plasma to control crowds. The story is short on technical details — but, at the same time, a troubling glimpse of the military's desire to control people using next-gen tech.

## Frikkin Lasers

It's not clear how the tech works.

And for now, the *Military Times* reports that the Pentagon's scientists haven't yet built a speech-transmitting laser capable of passing through a wall — though officials believe it could be ready to deploy in as little as five years.

## Hearing Voices

But, as the tech progresses, *[Live Science ](<https://www.livescience.com/66060-pentagon-tests-talking-laser.html>)*[reports](<https://www.livescience.com/66060-pentagon-tests-talking-laser.html>) that the lasers could be beamed down from military planes or other vehicles to issue instructions or disperse crowds of protestors or otherwise disgruntled people in the area.

"Now I can put it anywhere. Range doesn’t make any difference," chief scientist Dave Law told *Military Times*. "Put plasma at a target, modulate it and it can create a voice."

**READ MORE:** [Pentagon scientists are making talking plasma laser balls for use as non-lethal weapons](<https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2019/07/19/pentagon-scientists-are-making-talking-plasma-laser-balls-for-use-as-non-lethal-weapons/>) \[*Military Times*\]

**More on brain lasers:** *[MIT Used a Laser to Transmit Audio Directly Into a Person's Ear](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/laser-beam-speech-mit.md>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)

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- [MIT Used a Laser to Transmit Audio Directly Into a Person’s Ear](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/laser-beam-speech-mit.md>)
- [Raytheon Says Laser Weapon Will Blast Nuclear Missiles From Sky](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/raytheon-lasers-hypersonic-missiles.md>)
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