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U.S. Military Spending Millions To Make Cyborgs A Reality (cnn.com)
mmell writes: The U.S. military is spending millions on an advanced implant that would allow a human brain to communicate directly with computers. If it succeeds, cyborgs will be a reality. The goal of the proposed implant is to "open the channel between the human brain and modern electronics" according to DARPA's program manager, Phillip Alvelda. In January, DARPA announced it plans to spend up to $62 million on the project, which is part of its Neural Engineering System Design program. The implant would be small -- no larger than one cubic centimeter, or roughly the size of two stacked nickels -- according to DARPA. The implantable device aims to convert neurons in the brain into electronic signals and provide unprecedented "data-transfer bandwidth between the human brain and the digital world," according to a DARPA statement announcing the new project. DARPA sees the implant as providing a foundation for new therapies that could help people with deficits in sight or hearing by "feeding digital auditory or visual information into the brain." A spokesman for DARPA told CNN that the program is not intended for military applications.
Ordinarily, such a headline might be considered sensationalist reporting and a batch of sci-fi -- except DARPA is involved. I can remember when internetworking computers was a radical concept until DARPA came up with some serious sci-fi style communications protocols to make it all work. With only $62 million budgeted (so far), we can only hope that it'll be a while before they succeed -- but then again, this is DARPA we're talking about.
Ordinarily, such a headline might be considered sensationalist reporting and a batch of sci-fi -- except DARPA is involved. I can remember when internetworking computers was a radical concept until DARPA came up with some serious sci-fi style communications protocols to make it all work. With only $62 million budgeted (so far), we can only hope that it'll be a while before they succeed -- but then again, this is DARPA we're talking about.
"Alert: Pay us 5 grand in bitcoin, or we'll give you amnesia, like we did to Reagan and Rick Perry!"
Table-ized A.I.
"The implantable device aims to convert neurons in the brain into electronic signals ..."
As an additional benefit a short time after implantation the subjects will qualify as news release editors or professional climate change deniers (but not for long).
Nate
The real problem with the computer chip, human cell interface is that final connection. Getting a connection that will not burn out or contaminate cells or even the simple physics of different densities and how that will disrupt connections from changes in inertial loading. Those chips would need to have near identical densities to the brain tissue they connect to, any electrical exchange would have to be near identical to human electrical change (which tends to be more within the cell with chemical exchange outside of the cell) and chemical exchange would require refuelling the computer chips or attempting to draw that chemical fuel from the body.
Sure computer biological connections can be more easily obtained but they are not sustainable or desirable and their intent only really functions around concepts of torture, forced destructive extraction of data or temporary enslavement (with biologic failure in any extended application).
Reality is, for any longevity it would require the bioengineering of a living organisation planted within the brain that could act as the connection between the human mind and any digital interface. Something that could squirm into the brain, say between the two halves of the brain and wrap itself around the corpus collosum with it's tail attached to the skull providing the digital connection. About the only means be which to create a no destructive connection, apart from say remote quantum connections, in terms of measuring and changing. Far simpler to engineer the symbiote than to attempt a quantum connection of course if you don't care about damaging the individual and your purposes are destructively perverted as expected from the US military, than well, what else would you expect from the US military industrial complex.
Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
Ah right, like having a radio transmitter on a robot with a constantly on, two way, broadband data link is a good idea, if it is trying to hide and not get hit. If you radiate energy of any frequency you can be detected and if you can be detected you can be targeted.
You can read about the specifics here: https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=op....
The call is for a human-deployable system after 4 years. It should read from a million neurons and be able to write to 100,000 neurons, 1000 neurons in full duplex read-write, with 60 dB channel isolation, all in a tiny package that doesn't significantly overheat the brain tissue its up against.
Who thinks that's possible?
Expected time to finish is 1 hour and 60 minutes.
> I can remember when internetworking computers was a radical concept until DARPA came up with some serious sci-fi style communications protocols
No, son, you don't. And no, they didn't.
E ... this was a radical concept". Four years later the protocol was improved to add sequence numbers, acks, send windows, and TCP was born. While ARPA (now DARPA) financed some of this work, it wasn't anything DARPA[sic] came up with nor was there any "serious sci-fi style" whatever to it. From the IMPs of 1969 to the NSF core routers (Cisco AGS+) of the 1980s to the networks we have today, The US DoD ARPA had a hand in funding it, but it didn't "come up" with any of it (that's not what they do) and none of it is sci-fi, and you don't remember any of that personally. Here's a shout out to the many people who were around that day.
P.S. To add finer detail, the IMPs used the 1822 protocol developed by Bolt, Beranek, and Newman (BBN) in 1969. You were not around to "remember when
So just bring a really long wire then, duuuh...
...what? Is there an editor in the house?
Unfortunately, the implanted device converted his neurons to electronic signals.