#brain-computer-interfaces

#brain-computer-interfaces

The retina and the optic nerve are outgrowths of neural tissue, and the remarkable success of electronic implants in restoring sight shows how far brain-computer interfaces have come. These have not delivered a sci-fi vision of augmented humans with incredible new powers but, perhaps more happily, significant progress has been made, restoring ability and agency to those who have suffered injury or disease.

See told me sufficient material exists to create AI-powered interactive versions of historical figures like Napoleon, and that researchers are already working on such reconstructions in the hope they will help bring history to life. I mentioned See's prediction to friends and family who all immediately condemned the idea because they fear activists would conduct digital exhumations of history's vilest characters - fascist dictators and the like - to insert their hateful ideologies into contemporary debate.

A rare circulatory problem required Emily Wheldon to have her left arm amputated three years ago. Her brain still thinks it's there. "Most days, it just feels like I've got my arm next to me," she says. The perception is so compelling that Wheldon had to train herself not to rely on the missing limb. "When I first had the amputation," she says, "I was trying to put my arm out to stop myself from falling."

But the idea that new technology can decode a person's inner voice is "unsettling," says Nita Farahany, a professor of law and philosophy at Duke University and author of the book: The Battle for Your Brain. "The more we push this research forward, the more transparent our brains become," Farahany says, adding that measures to protect people's mental privacy are lagging behind technology that decodes signals in the brain.

Erin Kunz of Stanford University indicates that brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) can restore speech for paralyzed individuals by decoding signals from the brain's motor cortex, revealing intended speech.

OpenWater's decision to make its patents freely available and grant open access to its technology marks a revolutionary shift towards open-source principles in the tech industry.