Implanting computing power in the brain could help humans have near-perfect memory, read books instantaneously and communicate with other implanted humans telepathically, or without speaking, explains Johnson. For the first generation of implantable neural prosthetics, a neurologist will have to surgically implant the computer chip into a person's brain. The goal for the future, however, is to be able to implant chips into human brains laparoscopically and using other less invasive methods. Johnson believes that our generation will be defined by the way we wrestle with the prospect of merging humans with machine technology.

"A generation's time and place is defined by the debates they have. So, for example, we have civil rights and human rights and marriage rights and abortion rights. I think the coming discussion for our society will be evolution rights," Johnson tells CNBC.

As a society, humans will have to decide whether it is acceptable to opt for genetic or neurological enhancement once the technology becomes available. Also, we will have to debate how those rights are managed and how technology is distributed. What will be legal? Who can access the new technology first? Johnson expects the conversation to break on national borders. Some countries will allow genetic enhancements and others will not. "There's a general reluctance for humans to adopt certain forms of enhancement," says Johnson. For example, when plastic surgery first became technically possible, it was largely feared and relegated to the fringes. Now, however, cosmetic surgery is commonplace, says Johnson. "I think we will see the same thing happen as we gain more powerful forms of enhancements in genetics and neurological enhancement and physical augmentation." HOW JOHNSON MADE HIS FORTUNE To launch Kernel, Johnson, now 39, contributed $100 million of his own money. That's not money he was born with. In his early 20s, Johnson struggled. "I was broke. And I had two kids at home and I couldn't pay my bills. I was up to my eyeballs in debt and I couldn't find a job. I applied for 60 jobs. Nobody would hire me. Nobody would even give me an interview," he says. At the time, Johnson emailed 50 wealthy individuals introducing himself, saying that he was a hard worker, smart and hungry for a chance. He got no responses.

Bryan Johnson, founder and CEO of Kernel Photo courtesy Kernel

Finally, Johnson found a job selling credit-card processing door-to-door. He was paid on commission. He pounded the pavement and broke all previous selling records, he says. He also came up with an idea for a business. "I just found this broken industry in payments and I thought there's this amazing opportunity to build an exceptional company," he says. Johnson went on to found and launch Braintree, a credit-card processing company, which he grew and sold to eBay in 2013 for $800 million. Financially liberated, Johnson was driven by his desire to make an impact on the world. He decided that unlocking the brain was the most noble and challenging goal.

There's this huge potential to co-evolve with our technology. Bryan Johnson founder and CEO of Kernel