Major Breakthrough in Direct Neural Interface

jd writes "In a major breakthrough, neurologists are reporting that they can decypher neurological impulses into speech with an 80% accuracy. A paralyzed man who is incapable of speech has electrodes implanted in his brain which detect the electrical pulses in the brain relating to speech. These signals are then fed into computers which covert these pulses into signals suitable for speech synthesis. As a biotech marvel, this is astonishing. Depending on the rate of development it is possible to imagine Professor Hawking migrating to this, as it would be immune to any further loss of body movement and would vastly accelerate his ability to talk. On the flip-side, direct brain I/O is also a major step towards William Gibson's Neuromancer and other cyberpunk dark futures."

Comments

Wait-- they haven't actually done this yet

[raddan]

Read carefully

Although the data is still being analysed, researchers at Boston University believe they can correctly identify the sound Mr Ramsay's brain is imagining some 80% of the time.

In the next few weeks, a computer will start the task of translating his thoughts into sounds.

"We hope it will be a breakthrough," says Joe Wright of Neural Signals, which has helped develop the technology. While this is indeed promising, and I hope that this 'unlocks' this poor fellow, this 'unlocking' has not happened yet. Hopefully, when they are able to decipher these signals, he's not saying, "Kill me" over and over again.

Re:Sadly more likely...

[tjstork]

And yes, that entire story was just so I could "drop" that I have a wife in a slashdot post. Cunning, huh?

Your wife's recovery and you staying with her, through all of that, is the most poignant thing I have read on Slashdot, ever.

A story like yours deserves to be told, and demands that we listen.

May the winds always be at your back.

Re:Slashdot.

[Lord Ender]

Judeo-Christian values were at the core

If, by "Judeo-Christian," you mean "Western," then you are right.

The majority of Western values do not trace their roots to any of the Middle Eastern religions. They come from other places, such as Greek philosophers.

In fact, the philosophical foundations of the US are in many ways opposite to the so-called Christian values. Cruel and unusual punishment, for example, is condoned--actually commanded--by the Christian god. Slavery, and the belief that all men are NOT created equal, is a common theme in the Bible.

The statesmen/philosophers who founded this country may have been Christian, but the documents they wrote to found this country were quite the opposite.