The Future of Putting Chips Inside Our Brains

Roland Piquepaille writes "Researchers at the University of Florida (UF) have developed chips which someday might be inserted in the brains of people affected by epilepsy or who have lost a limb. These neuroprosthetic chips 'can interpret signals in the brain and stimulate neurons to perform correctly.' The University claims this is the future of medicine. This is maybe a little bit extreme. Just the same, the researchers are already studying these chips with rats and hope to have a prototype ready within 4 years that could be tested on humans."

Comments

Chips?

[akkarin]

Ooo! What flavour?

got one

[Tablizer]

I just installed a Troll Chip, and it's working great! I've never fealt better or smarter. Oh, and by the way, both emacs and vi suck eggs to high hell, and C# is better than Java.

Finally!

[Tablizer]

instant porn in the middle of boring meetings. Brilliant!

Re:I want a math coprocessor

[E 99]

I want a computer in my head that I can tell to do discrete calculations for me, since humans are so slow at them and mistake-prone. I'd love to be able to do 4096-bit RSA encryption in my head. Then the rest of my brain could concentrate on the problems the computer isn't good at.

I'd be satisfied if I could just figure out the restaurant tip in my head.

Re:I want a conversation coprocessor

[DataBroker]

How about something that filters out pointless conversation instead? In the middle of some intense thinking and and some numbskull walks wanting to share some boring story again? Expecting an urgent email but tired of reading each message as it pops up? Tired of having to concentrate and focus on "conversation" with the Wifey or kids (aka, saying "uh-huh" at the right time)?

Get a Conversation Coprocessor! It handles mundane written and verbal conversations for you! Worried about missing something important? Conversation Coprocessor records all conversation for later review and recall. If any current conversation meets the conditions you specify as being "worth attending to" it immediately triggers a small sneezing/coughing/belching fit and plays back the previous conversation buffer to you. End result: you waste less time on pointless conversation and are able to time-shift conversations! It's like Tivo for conversation.

Yes!

[Umbral Blot]

Now I can stop moving altogether and type only with my mind, thus completely leaving the animal kingdom.

Let me help...

[msimm]

Big or small tits? (I'm going to hell)

Re:I want a math coprocessor

[mcpkaaos]

Then the rest of my brain could concentrate on the problems the computer isn't good at.

Such as finding a purpose for doing 4096-bit RSA in your head. Unless you mean doing 4096-bit RSA encryption in your head to your head, in which case the rest of your brain had better be concentrating on the key.

Upgrades

[EnsilZah]

Must be a bitch when you come in for a next-gen upgrade and it uses a different socket. =/

Re:Wirelsss Cybernetics

[NoobixCube]

Controlling things with your mind is just a bad idea... Wait until we get "thought-click" ads and purchases on the internet. Advertising is already so all-pervasive that it's a form of mind control in many cases. Imagine going about your daily business and seeing a banner ad on a page. If your first impulse is to buy, you'd sure as hell better hope your bank transactions aren't thought-controlled too.