Going Cyberpunk

goingincirclez writes "Cnet has an article about the development of a "Neuro-chip". This can be implanted in the brain and is currently being researched for medical uses. The article makes a brief mention the composition of pictures on a computer based on signlas receieved from the brain. Couple this development with the information in this Wired article from last October, and I can't help but wonder how far we are from literally being able to record dreams and thoughts?" On a similar note there are stories about a temperature-sensing implantable microchip and a scientist who claims he can tell whether you've committed a crime.

Comments

if there is anything that Tom Cruise has taught me

[AssFace]

its that only shaved psychic genetic freaks that float in a comatose state in a vat underground can tell me who has committed a crime.

5th Amendment

[Anonymous Coward]

If (and I'm stressing that if) this becomes "widely accepted", couldn't one simply refuse to allow oneself to be tested, as it would really just be another form of self incrimination, which we are protected from by the 5th Amendment? After all, each of these little "brain spikes" would be like the defendant muttering "I did it" each time he was shown a card with evidence on it.

Re:5th Amendment

[gilroy]

Blockquoth the poster:

If (and I'm stressing that if) this becomes "widely accepted", couldn't one simply refuse to allow oneself to be tested, as it would really just be another form of self incrimination, which we are protected from by the 5th Amendment?

Sure. Just like your right to refuse a breathalyzer test if pulled over by the cops. Except, of course, that if you exercise this right, the state is allowed to revoke your driving privileges effectively immediately. It won't take long before refusing to take the test will itself be taken as a confession.

Um... Has anyone NOT committed a crime?

[Junior J. Junior III]

With laws like the U.S.A.P.A.T.R.I.O.T. act and the DMCA, hasn't pretty much everyone broken the law now? It hardly takes a scientists to tell whether someone's a criminal these days. Hell, it's been true for decades that the tax code is so fiendishly complex that no one can understand it, let alone comply with it fully. And if all else fails, there's always the speed limit laws...

Re:No reading of minds yet

[blindcoder]

And that's a shame.

Is there anyone else out there who sometimes when coding has the feeling:

Dammit... I have all that code in my brain, and now I have to type away hours on the keyboard to put it into my 'puter.

I really hoped that this feeling would finally be able to subside...

In the beginning was the THOUGHT

[solendril]

Now what REALLY matters is the interface. It's not much good to have a computer wired to your cortex is all you can do is type on your brain's command line.

What will make this take off is a thought-processor. An interface device that allows the computer to read your mind. The real challange will be in signal filtering; I don't want to speak for anyone else, but I think about a lot of random crap during the day. How to distinguish legitimate commands from my daydreaming about travel or movies or p0rn?

Whoever invents this will make Einstein look like a small time celebrity.

Why a chip?

[joel8x]

Who in their right mind would get a chip implanted in their body? With technology advancing as fast as it does, you would be outdated in a couple of years! A better Idea would be a port that can be easily accessed that can support future upgrades without surgery.

Re:Imagine this idea

[Anonymous Hack]

You know, the whole "Matrix-type needle" thing bugs me. It's so... clinical. I want a fuckin rock'n'roll guitar jack in my head a la the Shadowrun RPG. If you're going to plug your PC into your head the least you could do is make sure it's a fashion statement and not some kinda wimpy little pin interface.

I can see it now:
Dell jack - Comes in beige plastic and lasts about two weeks.
Toshiba jack - "It's not a jack, it's a mini-jack." For the mobile computing professional.
Sun jack - "We don't sell jacks." You need com.sun.java.io.jack installed on whatever other jack you have.
Sony jack - Comes with integrated DRM to fry you if you download MP3s to your brain.
VIA jack - Mini-ITX version implants the whole PC in your head.
IBM jack - It's square. And comes in clusters.
Apple jack - Mmmm yum. Comes in translucent tangerine, but doesn't actually do anything because all the connections are wireless.

Re:The John Ashcroft implantable microchip

[dkf]

I've no problem with this so long as we screen all our elected representatives, judges, lawyers and police officers before starting on anyone else...