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How a 1960s Discovery In Neuroscience Spawned a Military Project
Harperdog writes "This is pretty fascinating: The Chronicle of Higher Ed has an article about a DARPA project that allows researchers to scan satellite photos, video, etc., and have a computer pick up differences in brain activity to tell whether an image has been seen...images that might flash by before conscious recognition. From the article: 'In a small, anonymous office in the Trump Tower, 28 floors above Wall Street, a man sits in front of a computer screen sifting through satellite images of a foreign desert. The images depict a vast, sandy emptiness, marked every so often by dunes and hills. He is searching for man-made structures: houses, compounds, airfields, any sign of civilization that might be visible from the sky. The images flash at a rate of 20 per second, so fast that before he can truly perceive the details of each landscape, it is gone. He pushes no buttons, takes no notes. His performance is near perfect.'"
Sir, please sit down and stare at this screen for 60 seconds.
(13.18 seconds later)
BEEP! Warning: this person has seen pedophile material!
After weeks of research to prove he's innocent, the man brings his family photo album in which we can see naked baby pictures that look very similar in decor, photo angle, etc.
Yep, I think applications in the consumer market are not going to be wildly popular for just these reasons. But I can think of some very cool uses in the commmercial/industrial space like hands-free barcode scanning for warehouse receipting & stocktakes, or live video feeds or photos while performing repair work.
Things like plot and game-mechanic spoilers, shock sites, and things I'd generally rather not read or view instead burn into my brain even before I get a chance to realize what hit my eyes. Other things (however important) end up filed away in my brain's apparently vast realm of Please Jog My Memory, I Forget.
I'm pretty sure it's normal (if not crucial for natural responses like fight-or-flight), but it still amuses me (except when it disturbs me).
You can hold down the "B" button for continuous firing.
Hook up a bunch of vegges with functional visuals to city-wide cameras (or whatever venue you want to watch). Stick a wanted poster next to the screen and wait for the spike.
What happens when he blinks?