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Intel Says Brain Implants Could Control Computers By 2020
Lucas123 writes "Scientists at Intel are working on developing sensors that would be implanted in a person's head in order to harness brain waves that could then be used to control computers, televisions, cell phones and other electronic equipment. Intel has already used Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (FMRI) machines to determine that blood flow changes in specific areas of the brain based on what word or image someone is thinking of. People tend to show the same brain patterns for similar thoughts. 'Eventually people may be willing to be more committed ... to brain implants. Imagine being able to surf the Web with the power of your thoughts.' said Intel research scientist Dean Pomerleau."
Computer implants will control brains by 2019.
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
In the spirit of XKCD, should I get the chip installed in my brain and wait until Linux patches in support? Or wait for an Open Source alternative?
is someone trying to figure out a way to get advertising into my mind. We all know someone is going to try.
Fortunately, feeding input directly into the brain is more difficult that reading output from it.
Imagine the damage a "keylogger" could do in a system like this.
My mind is the last sanctuary I have left, and I'm not going to jeopardize it by connecting it into a system which can be easily tapped, read, and quite probably manipulated by an outside force.
Funny may not give karma, but +5 Informative never made anyone snort coffee out their nose.
Why, oh why does everyone at Intel think that people just want to 'surf the web' with whatever they happen to invent? You invent freaking brain implants and the first obvious use becomes surfing the web?
It could not be ... `write code` or `use photoshop` or .. anything even remotely challenging to a human brain?
Ah well.
So if you are good at studying, you can already max out the bandwidth your brain has for learning new things.
That assumes a few things though: that your occipital lobe is the highest bandwidth input possible, that visualizing symbols (words,numbers,etc.) is an efficient means of acquiring knowledge, that the brain couldn't learn faster if it had more efficient inputs, that direct memory creation isn't possible, and that your brain's wiring is optimal.
I don't think we really know the answers to any of those yet.
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
... it's All pr0n, all the time.
You say like its a bad thing.
Face your daemons!
Imagine being able to surf the Web with the power of your thoughts.
And there you have it. Why would we want to set up a direct connection between the human mind and a 64-bit multicore computer with many gigabytes of RAM, over a terabyte of storage, and a high-speed connection to the international network of computing machinery? To do large-scale science? To create art as it has never been created before? To help throw off the shackles of oppression and exploitation? Shit, to manage your budget and do your taxes? No. To surf the web.
Well, at least they're not kidding themselves over at the ever-practical Intel.
Honest to Dog, I swear we've been "just a decade away" from mass distribution of optical implants to aid the blind since the SEVENTIES! I've given up on stories about the distribution of ALL brain interfaces that are "just a decade away (Really, trust me!)" until I see local news stories about my neighborhood hospital installing them and insurance paying for them.