The following is a very interesting survey results conducted by Zogby International

For the full coverage on the survey results, please visit Cyborg Status – Forbes.com (August 5th, 2009).

–If you could have the Internet wired directly into your brain, would you do so?
Yes: 13%
No: 82%
Not sure: 5%.

(We asked the same question in October 2007, and found 11% said yes.)

–Would you agree to have a computer chip implanted in your brain if it would make you immune to disease?
Yes: 25%
No: 54%
Not sure: 21%

–Would you agree to have a computer chip implanted in your brain which would provide you with entertainment?
Yes: 6%
No: 86%
Not sure: 9%

–Would you agree to have a computer chip implanted in your brain if it would provide you a storehouse of knowledge?

Yes: 23%
No: 58%
Not sure: 19%

One in four would be open to allowing an artificial intelligence into his or her body to ward off disease (and possibly mortality itself). Slightly fewer are so sure knowledge is power that they too would want the chip implant. But only 6% would want a computer chip just to be entertained. Being wired to the Internet can satisfy a lot of needs, both practical and prurient. So the fact that we found 13% who might want to turn themselves into Me.com makes some sense in this needs hierarchy.

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On being wired to the Internet, the First Global generation of 18- to 29-year-olds is the leader at 24%. The percentages decline with age to only 8% of people 65 and older. First Globals are also more likely than the other age groups to want the entertainment chip, but that number is still only 10%. First Globals are about 5% more likely to want the knowledge chip. However, there is no age difference on the immunity chip question.

You might also expect that more men than women might be risk takers, and willing to alter their brain physiologies. That is born out, with men ranging from five to nine points more likely to answer yes to all four questions.

The largest and most consistent differences were found along the nation’s deepest fault lines, political ideology and religion.

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It’s clear that the religious practices of liberals and conservatives are the primary reason for their different answers. People who never attend religious services are significantly more likely to answer yes than are those who attend services weekly or more often. The biggest difference (19 points) is on the disease immunity question.

We may soon have real ethical questions about implanting artificial intelligence into our bodies. Our poll shows with certainty that there are some people willing to take that step. When it happens, our culture wars will have a new battlefield: the human brain.

On a related note, read more about the cyborg technology currently at work, also provided to you by Forbes Magazine.