Thought controlled video games.

I think that it may well be possible to reverse the process. But then, how would the government make it mandatory? Why? The government does exactly what the government wants, anyway, without our consent. (which, of course, is exactly what the framers of the Constitution were trying to protect against.) As long as the government has a populace that wants nothing to do with it, it's free to do whatever it wants. Right now, television has lulled the American citizenry into a stupor that they don't seem willing to wake up from. Mission accomplished, no electrodes.

The most likely scenario is that this technology will become available to the general public, without actual implants being necessary, and it will probably start as a game controller.

It's still way cool.

Well hooking up video game controlers, a thought controlled mouse.. and a "mind" video screen.. wouldn't neccessarily allow anyone to control you. Your emotional centers would have to be hooked up for that to happen. If that were the case things could get very dangerous....

a computer virus designed to make someone violent.. that would spread...

A brain virus???

That's a scary thought.

Even worse...



...brain spam!!

o god brain spam!!! i'm tellin ya popup would become alot more annoying if they intruded on my minds eye lol

Well, think of the new industries that this technology would spawn...

Norton antivirus/antispam/popup blocker, Brain edition.


Let's just hope that it doesn't come bundled with MS/ Brain OS 2012.

that would give new meaning to the term "blue screen of death"

It would definitely have a tendency to be a bad thing to have a brain crash.

Aren't seizures basically brain lock-ups?

Which, of course brings us back around to the topic at hand, the subjects in the experiment were having implants put in to help limit their seizures. They just put the electrodes in while they had their skulls open.

Still, the ability to control things by thought is amazing.

*** I'm Back! ***(to all that wondered...)

As an opensource developer I would love it if this technology would be
available to civilians! I would immediately be jumping at the chance to study how the device drivers work on these things! The idea of crunching out subroutines and functions with a single thought by extension of concept would rock my world! Then being able to develop a front end that would intercept the driver's functions and allow tcp access would open up a whole new world. Imagine being able to operate multiple computers through LAN support using straight up mind power. woo hoo!
I realize the above possibilities won't be around for a long time, but man o man I can't wait!



[edit on 22-6-2004 by Crysstaafur]

Somehow, I managed to miss this aspect.

Yeah, that would be way cool.

I feel like it's been alluded to, but perhaps not directly expressed. Think of the benefits for the handicap. Thought controlled wheel chairs and thought controlled robotic arms. It seems like thought controlled wheel chairs for people who are completely paralyzed are well within technological reach now.

Besides, if we can come up with good humanitarian uses, the video games will get here that much faster. . .



--J1m

Originally posted by UnusualMe
Well hooking up video game controlers, a thought controlled mouse.. and a "mind" video screen.. wouldn't neccessarily allow anyone to control you. Your emotional centers would have to be hooked up for that to happen. If that were the case things could get very dangerous....
a computer virus designed to make someone violent.. that would spread...

Interesting thought!

Many technologies developed for computer/human interaction have become wireless and this trend is constantly increasing. So, you begin with a few wires connected to the firewire/USB port of your pooter which you stick to the top of your head or are connected to a headset you wear. Great for games and will probably vastly increase reaction times. Also good for medical and military applications.

Ok, I'm off into potential fantasy land below, or maybe not?

Someone then decides that this headset is cumbersome and creates a wireless version. It's also the norm to make things as small as possible these days, so you end up with a little patch like a plaster you stick to the top of your head and forget about while in use. But wait, if it's that small anyway couldn't you make a small incision in the head and slip this patch under the dermis? The scar nicely hidden by the hair and nobody is any the wiser. The patch could be triggered/monitored much like the RFID patches or Verisign chips.

If something like this can be designed to receive data from the brain to transmit commands to a PC, then there's no reason why it can't receive data from an external source to transmit commands to the brain.

Am I off into fairy land here?

Cheers,
Grey Pilgrim

I think wireless will be the way to go.. as I don't see many people jumping on the bandwagon for actual wires being attached to their brain.. (except me lol.. and of course people who need to for disability reasons)

So we are wireless now.. but what we have hooked up is.. monitor..mouse control..keyboard..maybe game controller, but we will still need a computer to run these programs for us.. we'll be connected to it through our little "patch"

On the same hand while away from home we might have the capabilities of a cell/thinkpad

To get the FULL capabilities of a computer as we see them now..on the go miniturization will have to have gone way beyond what it is now.

Maybe we will carry little totes with our wireless laptop.. or "thinktop" for awhile...basically the same size as they are now..Remember we need some sort of medium to STORE data.. programs...multimedia..games
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As far as help for the disabled.. before wireless it may require .. wires.. after it would be a patch. I do also seem to recall some other way... a artificial limb with sensors inside. When you wear it the sensors touch certain parts of what is left.. your stubb.. and it translates signals from your "stub" that would indicate movement commaned by the brain, and then moves.
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Emotional manipulation will most likely be left out of our multimedia world.. while things like touch, smell and hearing are hooked up. Messing with the emotional centers will be the job of doctors treating mental illness, but will be seperate from all other types of implants and incapable of sending and recieving data.. or at least of recieving.

There is a good fictional book about this called "Terminal Man" by Micheal Chriton(spelling)
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I don't see dermal insertion as an option
Actual implants can be hooked up to hardware, outside the brain, and can be easily upgraded.
Wireless tech can be worn by means of a headset... or other invention and can be easily upgraded.....

Dermals would require surgery to upgrade and I don't see how that is cost effective.
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Another idea is COMPUTER towers... imagine a super computer able to handle many users.... kinda like a cell phone tower. WE would connect to this supercomputer which would have our slice of desktop on it.. all multimedia we have is held serverside by the company that makes it.. you pay for it and you can use it.. they carry the load of memory and usage processing. This would require major improvements in wireless communication.. it would basicaly have to supply you with major multimedia and large files..on demand
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All of these things are not only dependant on the computing technology.. but on the science of understanding the brain. Exactly where in the brain, controls what and how to translate that signal into actual information that can be read by a meduim outside the brain....
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I see more of a keyboard type implementation.. we all think things we'd never dream of saying.. if this were hooked up to our speach center.. alot of people would be offending alot of other people alot..lol.. alot

Same goes for recording what we see in our mind as a picture.. this might be really cool for artists but it could also be dangerous.

Something that reads and transmits what's on our minds could easily start to be used as sort of a thought police scenerio.
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Well there is my 2cents

Well, we may be jumping the gun on the brain-computer communication. So far, it's kinda limited, but I guess since they've been able to make a blind man see, I can't see why it wouldn't be doable to have active two way communication between brain and computer. I guess that it would be like a sixth sense.

Wow, think of the implications of wireless high speed direct to brain internet access! Massive amounts of information available at a single thought. Of course, we'd need to learn to keep our b/s detectors on all the time, but wouldn't this, coupled with e-mail and message boards, amount to machine assisted telepathy?

Cool!

Great article you discoverd and a great discussion

Like it said in the artilce there is more potential in this field which is going to open more doors am sure.

Would this be a great introduction into the world of Virtual Reality?

wonder if it gets to the stage where you can be connected and the system is hacked? and wether this technoligy could help understand the brain better?

just thoughts

Rynaldo

I'm just guessing, here, but I would think that this technology would force us to understand the brain better.

The idea of nearly unlimited data, available at a single thought, would be a boon indeed.

But, we're still in the very early stages, here. We still require direct contact to the brain, both for sending to the brain (in the case of the optic implant), or recieving from the brain. (in the case of the people controlling the video game.) That's an obstacle that requires getting around. Sub-dermal but outside the skull implants might be acceptable, but I think that people would probably like to be able to disconnect from time to time, so I'm thinking a sort of hat would be the best way to go. It'll take room temperature superconductors, I'm sure, so it would advance that technology as well.

Broadband wireless streaming brain-porn. Okay, enough about that.

Also consider the ideas of brain-spam that someone mentioned earlier, and the idea of propaganda and misinformation (corporate or otherwise) in a high-speed, straight to brain media. . .

I think it's VERY important that a person regulates and filters their own intellectual intake. As technology advances, this becomes even more important. I don't believe I'll ever hook my brain directly into the internet, even if the technology is available.

I may change my tune once the technology becomes available, tho.

--J1m

the information wont be directly routed to our brain.. in the sense that we'll immediatly absorb it.. it will be givin to our visual center where we'd view it like a webpage.. and can still choose whether or not to believe it.. and when to shut it off

Would you agree that this would make a huge impact to the educational field? e.g. getting told to do research think how fast you could get it done?

Rynaldo

Originally posted by rynaldo82
Would you agree that this would make a huge impact to the educational field? e.g. getting told to do research think how fast you could get it done?
Rynaldo

Absolutely agree. It would potentially revolutionise so many industries and fields of research.

I think one of the most important applications for this technology would be for those people with disabilities. It would improve quality of life enormously.

Cheers,
Grey Pilgrim

Now think about wht happens when this tech is hooked up to the brain tech.
bleex.me.berkeley.edu...
sanlab.kz.tsukuba.ac.jp...
Parapalegics could concievably have more strength than the rest of the world.