Neurotechnology that utilizes artificial intelligence opens up new possibilities in medical care that did not exist before.
For decades, companies and researchers have been working on implantable devices that interpret signals in the brain and translate them into verbal or physical commands. Although this technology is not new, advances in artificial intelligence are now accelerating, allowing people with debilitating diseases to communicate in ways that were previously physically impossible.
These devices have been a game-changer for people like Rodney, an ALS patient who had a stent-loaded device implanted in his brain. The device, developed by Synchron, a neurotechnology company backed by Amazon's Jeff Bezos and Microsoft's Bill Gates, contains tiny electrodes that convert brain signals into physical actions. Mr. Rodney can type on a keyboard just by thinking.
Neurotechnology has the potential to empower patients like Rodney, but AI could make less invasive neurotechnology more accessible to everyday consumers and power the next generation of consumer technology products. There is a gender.
According to Precedence Research, the market for neurotechnology devices was valued at approximately $15 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach more than $55 billion by 2032. This is the main reason why big tech companies like Meta (META) and Apple (AAPL) are backing it. Research into devices that can decipher thoughts and cognition without the need for invasive surgery.
But as Big Tech moves forward to build neurotechnological advances in the medical world, experts say it could endanger the privacy of our most precious data: our thoughts. I'm warning you that there is.
“This is our last bastion of privacy, and we have given up all other aspects of privacy that exist,” says Futurist, technology ethicist, and author of “The Battle for Your Brain.” said one Nita Farahany.
Big tech companies are trying to read your mind
Elon Musk's Neuralink made headlines earlier this year when it became the first to implant a brain-computer interface (BCI) in a human patient, but the company said Thursday that the implant had encountered several problems. announced.
The Neuralink implant, which has more than 1,000 electrodes and 64 threads, malfunctioned after a large number of threads retracted from the brain, reducing the number of active electrodes. The company said in a blog post that this will not adversely affect the functionality of the implant.
Musk isn't the only CEO trying to make neurotechnology a reality. At least 30 companies currently sell or develop neurotechnology.
For example, Apple has patented AirPods that incorporate EEG technology to measure brain activity. Concerns about Apple's weak iPhone sales have some investors hoping the company will come up with exciting new products that will bring in more revenue.
Healthcare has long been a goal for Apple. CEO Tim Cook laid out the strategy in 2019, saying, “If we look to the future…if you ask us what Apple's greatest contribution to humanity has been, it will be about health.'' ” he said.
Meta is another company that funds a team of neuroscientists who are furthering this research to understand how humans process language.
In one study conducted by Meta's Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) group, researchers flashed an image in front of participants for 1.5 seconds. A user sitting in a neuroimaging machine could think about the images they saw, and the AI could use that brain activity data to recreate the images.
“Right now, this is not a mind-reading technology,” Jean-Remi King, the lead neuroscientist working on the project, told Yahoo Finance. “What we can do is reconstruct the image that they're seeing in that moment, so we're actually deciphering their perception.”
As you can see in the image below, the results weren't perfect, but they were close enough that the research team initially thought the test was flawed.
“The initial reaction was… let's find out where the bugs are that could explain the quality of these results,” King said.
King emphasized that consumer products are not the end goal of the research, and Mehta said the goal of the research is “to help people with traumatic brain injury communicate.”
But at the same time, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is using electromyography to detect nerve signals that help users type or click on the screen with subtle hand movements. The company has been clear about its neurotech ambitions since 2021, when it began promoting an armband that enables
“I think we're going to see a consumer neural interface in the near future,” Zuckerberg said in April. “I'm not talking about something that affects the brain. I'm talking about something you wear on your wrist.”
privacy issues
There are big questions underlying this research and product development. That is, what would our world be like if Big Tech companies could literally read people's minds?
Non-invasive brain monitoring devices could be revolutionary in patient care, but not everyone is excited about the prospect of Big Tech gaining access to people's thoughts.
Neurolite advocates believe that our thoughts are the last data we have left to ourselves. That's why they're now fighting for legislation that would protect mental privacy while technology companies continue to fund brain-scanning research.
“There are no regulations at all,” said Dr. Rafael Juste, a professor of biological sciences and neuroscience at Columbia University. “It's like the Wild West.”
After years of research, Juste discovered a way to control the thoughts of rats using lasers. This experiment frightened him so much that he co-founded the Neurolights Foundation to protect the privacy of his thoughts.
And already, concerns about the privacy implications of neurotechnology are prompting policy changes. Colorado passed a bill in April that expands the state's privacy laws to include neurological rights. This is the first such bill in the United States. Similar bills are being considered in states such as California and Minnesota.
Farahany said, “The only space we have to mentally rest is really our brain and state of mind. It's like the last piece of the puzzle.”
Mr. Farahani has proposed a framework for a neurorights law that advocates for greater privacy across the board, with “the right to self-determination over one's brain and mental experiences.”
Farahany said patients who need neurotechnologies, and those who need them, will still have access to the technology.
As for Rodney, when I asked him on WhatsApp what he hoped the Stentrode device would accomplish in the long term, he recalled: “Hopefully it reaches more people.”
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