{"id":183802,"date":"2021-07-22T10:57:48","date_gmt":"2021-07-22T14:57:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/z3news.com\/w\/?p=183802"},"modified":"2021-07-22T21:47:15","modified_gmt":"2021-07-23T01:47:15","slug":"cyberpunk-20-researchers-warn-of-bleak-future-with-companies-owning-private-thoughts-world-divided-between-cyborg-and-human","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/z3news.com\/w\/cyberpunk-20-researchers-warn-of-bleak-future-with-companies-owning-private-thoughts-world-divided-between-cyborg-and-human\/","title":{"rendered":"Cyberpunk 20**? Researchers warn of \u2018bleak\u2019 future with companies owning private thoughts & world divided between cyborg and human"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scientists at Imperial College London have warned of a \u201cbleak panorama\u201d relating to the commercial use of brain-computer interfaces. If left unregulated, they say, the tech could lead to companies harvesting our deepest thoughts.<\/p>\n

Several Big Tech companies, including Facebook and Microsoft, and technology investors like Elon Musk have funded projects exploring the use of brain-computer interface (BCI) devices to map out neural links. US government agencies are also studying the tech\u2019s applications.<\/p>\n

In a new study<\/a> published in the APL Bioengineering journal, researchers from the university reviewed the state of BCI research. They raised red flags about the potential commercial exploitation of our innermost thoughts and feelings and warned of a world divided along the lines of access to BCI tech.<\/p>\n

Study co-author Roberto Portillo-Lara described the possibility of corporate entities accessing BCI readings as \u201cparticularly worrisome\u201d<\/em> since \u201cneural data is often considered to be the most intimate and private information that could be associated with any given user.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The most likely approach to real-world BCI applications is through electroencephalography (EEG), a relatively low-cost, non-invasive method of monitoring the brain\u2019s electrical activity. Hospitals use it \u2013 through a headgear with electrodes attached to the scalp \u2013 to diagnose epilepsy and other disorders.<\/p>\n

The researchers claim EEG-based BCI systems (eBCIs) will \u201cdeeply transform\u201d<\/em> industries like healthcare, entertainment, security, education and marketing in \u201cthe near future.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

However, Portillo-Lara warned that EEG data could also give companies \u201cunparalleled insight\u201d<\/em> into a person\u2019s \u201cintentions, preferences, and emotions.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

One recent example of a BCI venture is a Facebook-funded \u201cspeech neuroprosthesis\u201d<\/em> project that has used surgically-implanted electrodes on a participant\u2019s brain surface to create computer models for \u201cspeech detection\u201d<\/em> and word usage.<\/p>\n

In a blog post<\/a> earlier this month, the company said the project had enabled a man who could not speak after suffering a series of strokes 16 years ago to communicate again. It did this by converting his attempts to talk into words on a screen.<\/p>\n

However, the project was still far from the tech giant\u2019s stated goal<\/a> of a system that \u201ccan type 100 words per minute straight from your brain.\u201d<\/em> Perhaps unsurprisingly, Facebook said it would stop funding the project to focus on a product that had better short-term sales potential \u2013 a virtual reality wrist controller that reads muscle signals sent from the wearer\u2019s brain to the arm.<\/p>\n

Last year, Musk\u2019s BCI tech start-up Neuralink announced that it had implanted a chip in a pig\u2019s brain to study its neural pathways \u2013 with the eventual goal to build \u201cFitbit in your skull\u201d<\/em> human implants that would enable memories to be shared and Tesla cars to be telepathically summoned.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the US military\u2019s research arm DARPA is reportedly developing BCI tech with the intent to create supersoldiers who can control \u201cswarms of drones, operating at the speed of thought.\u201d<\/em> In 2017, the agency had awarded contracts to better understand how brain interface technology works and potentially build a device capable of communication with up to one million neurons at a time.<\/p>\n

This ties in to what the researchers warn could lead to a world divided between the augmented and the natural. Study co-author Rylie Green said policymakers and regulatory bodies had to tackle the \u201cdilemma\u201d<\/em> of BCI commercialization to avoid this \u201cbleak panorama.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The study authors said there were lessons to be learned from the commercialization and global impact of innovations like the internet and smartphones. Those examples showed that \u201cstringent\u201d<\/em> laws need to be put in place to ensure applications of BCI technology are ethical and safe.<\/p>\n

As well, they recommended that the technology needed to be shared and easily accessible to prevent \u201ccurrent socioeconomic inequalities\u201d<\/em> from growing worse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scientists at Imperial College London have warned of a \u201cbleak panorama\u201d relating to the commercial use of brain-computer interfaces. If left unregulated, they say, the tech could lead to companies harvesting our deepest thoughts.<\/p>\n

Several Big Tech companies, including Facebook and Microsoft, and technology investors like Elon Musk have funded projects exploring the use of brain-computer interface (BCI) devices to map out neural links. US government agencies are also studying the tech\u2019s applications.In a new study published in the APL Bioengineering journal, researchers from the university reviewed the state of BCI research. They raised red flags about the potential commercial exploitation of our innermost thoughts and feelings and warned of a world divided along the lines of access to BCI tech.Study co-author Roberto Portillo-Lara described the possibility of corporate entities accessing BCI readings as \u201cparticularly worrisome\u201d since \u201cneural data is often considered to be the most intimate and private information that could be associated with any given user.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also on rt.com
\n WATCH: Monkey hooked up to Elon Musk\u2019s Neuralink plays MindPong with just its thoughts<\/p>\n

The most likely approach to real-world BCI applications is through electroencephalography (EEG), a relatively low-cost, non-invasive method of monitoring the brain\u2019s electrical activity. Hospitals use it \u2013 through a headgear with electrodes attached to the scalp \u2013 to diagnose epilepsy and other disorders.The researchers claim EEG-based BCI systems (eBCIs) will \u201cdeeply transform\u201d industries like healthcare, entertainment, security, education and marketing in \u201cthe near future.\u201dHowever, Portillo-Lara warned that EEG data could also give companies \u201cunparalleled insight\u201d into a person\u2019s \u201cintentions, preferences, and emotions.\u201dOne recent example of a BCI venture is a Facebook-funded \u201cspeech neuroprosthesis\u201d project that has used surgically-implanted electrodes on a participant\u2019s brain surface to create computer models for \u201cspeech detection\u201d and word usage.[embedded content]In a blog post earlier this month, the company said the project had enabled a man who could not speak after suffering a series of strokes 16 years ago to communicate again. It did this by converting his attempts to talk into words on a screen.However, the project was still far from the tech giant\u2019s stated goal of a system that \u201ccan type 100 words per minute straight from your brain.\u201d Perhaps unsurprisingly, Facebook said it would stop funding the project to focus on a product that had better short-term sales potential \u2013 a virtual reality wrist controller that reads muscle signals sent from the wearer\u2019s brain to the arm.Last year, Musk\u2019s BCI tech start-up Neuralink announced that it had implanted a chip in a pig\u2019s brain to study its neural pathways \u2013 with the eventual goal to build \u201cFitbit in your skull\u201d human implants that would enable memories to be shared and Tesla cars to be telepathically summoned.[embedded content]Meanwhile, the US military\u2019s research arm DARPA is reportedly developing BCI tech with the intent to create supersoldiers who can control \u201cswarms of drones, operating at the speed of thought.\u201d In 2017, the agency had awarded contracts to better understand how brain interface technology works and potentially build a device capable of communication with up to one million neurons at a time.This ties in to what the researchers warn could lead to a world divided between the augmented and the natural. Study co-author Rylie Green said policymakers and regulatory bodies had to tackle the \u201cdilemma\u201d of BCI commercialization to avoid this \u201cbleak panorama.\u201dThe study authors said there were lessons to be learned from the commercialization and global impact of innovations like the internet and smartphones. Those examples showed that \u201cstringent\u201d laws need to be put in place to ensure applications of BCI technology are ethical and safe.As well, they recommended that the technology needed to be shared and easily accessible to prevent \u201ccurrent socioeconomic inequalities\u201d from growing worse.<\/p>\n

Also on rt.com
\n Off to live on a cyberfarm? NYPD retires robot cop dog after public outcry over \u2018creepy\u2019 & \u2018dystopian\u2019 tech<\/p>\n

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