Computers That Read Minds Are Being Developed By Intel

Unlike current brain-controlled computers, which require users to imagine making physical movements to control a cursor on a screen, the new technology will be capable of directly interpreting words as they are thought.
Intel's scientists are creating detailed maps of the activity in the brain for individual words which can then be matched against the brain activity of someone using the computer, allowing the machine to determine the word they are thinking.

Well this should not come as a surprise given the increased pace of technological advances, but still, it is both thought provoking(fun with the pun) and a bit scary as well.
Scientists have been able to better map brain activity, something that once took giant and costly MRI scanners, now can be done with a headset.
Active regions in the brain are observed in response to specific words.

"The computer uses a form of 20 questions to narrow down what the word is.
"So a noun with a physical property such as spade, which you dig with, produces activity in the motor cortex of the brain, as this is the area that controls physical movements.
"A food related word like apple, however, produces activity in those parts of the brain related to hunger. So the computer can infer attributes to each word being thought about and this lets the computer zero down on what the word is pretty quickly.
"We are currently mapping out the activity that an average brain produces when thinking about different words. It means you'll be able to write letters, open emails or do Google searches just by thinking".
Intel already have a working prototype that can detect words such as "screwdriver", "house" and "barn", by measuring around 20,000 points in the brain.

Who knows where these abilities will take us, but I feel that the sky is the limit with human/electronic interaction and connectivity, and of course that could get kind of crazy, I'll let your imaginations run with that one.
Surely there will be benefits for the disabled and injured, and it may serve others as well in some assistive fashion. Maybe it could serve as a learning tool.

But as brain scanning technology becomes more sophisticated the computer's ability to distinguish thoughts will improve.
Justin Ratner, director of Intel Laboratories and the company's chief technology officer, said: "Mind reading is the ultimate user interface. There will be concerns about privacy with this sort of thing and we will have to overcome them.
"What is clear though is that humans are not restricted any more to just using keyboards and mice".

www.telegraph.co.uk...


The scary part comes with how good/accurate this tech becomes. Does it not stand to reason that at some point these machines will be able to read our thoughts in a more complex way? I doubt they could be 100% accurate, but I would also bet they will come close enough to qualify as evidence for something.


spec

[edit on 5-9-2010 by speculativeoptimist]

This is really amazing for intel to do! This is what I should be doing with my future in helping people advanced technology.

reply to post by speculativeoptimist


S&F speculative.

nice technology. but it would be unnecessary if people knew what they were thinking and would share it.

too bad people can't read their own minds and tell us what they are thinking, instead of investing so much money and research into this technology to do it for us.

[edit on 5-9-2010 by Esoteric Teacher]

reply to post by speculativeoptimist


I prefer the original image released by Intel

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/cd7453b96c45.jpg[/atsimg]

reply to post by TortoiseKweek


Amazing

reply to post by Romantic_Rebel

Thanks for the comment and best wishes for your aspirations.

reply to post by Esoteric Teacher

I hear ya ET, and I wonder if the motivation here is to make life easier. I keep thinking of The Lawnmower Man and how we might all just wind up placid flesh pustules slowly migrating into cyberworld. No need to move nor speak in the future, just think and it will be done. Is this devolution or training to be gods?

reply to post by TortoiseKweek

A big hilarious DOH for you TK!

spec

[edit on 5-9-2010 by speculativeoptimist]

reply to post by speculativeoptimist


Thanks for the comment! Humans already know how to play God. It is just a matter of time before a bad one get's his hands on some real good technology. I'm talking about WMD's either. I'm trying to find all the cool science sites I have found. A lot of groundbreaking technology is being made as I type.
www.armedrobots.com...

reply to post by Romantic_Rebel

Very cool site Rebel, much thanks!
I like that "chronicling the rise of the machines."
I'm glad someone is doing that

Peace

Originally posted by speculativeoptimist
reply to post by Romantic_Rebel

 

Very cool site Rebel, much thanks!

I like that "chronicling the rise of the machines."
I'm glad someone is doing that

Peace

There was a guy is actually turned himself into a cyborg.
www.motherboard.tv...

Also check this neat little device.
singularityhub.com...

reply to post by Romantic_Rebel

Thanks again, I was unaware of such advances, and the information on these sites is exciting and inspiring for me.
Might I encourage you to do a thread on that cyborg piece. That is a very thought provoking story and would be great for discussion. It covers several aspects of human/machine relations and it raised several comments and questions in my mind.

Originally posted by speculativeoptimist
reply to post by Romantic_Rebel

 

Thanks again, I was unaware of such advances, and the information on these sites is exciting and inspiring for me.
Might I encourage you to do a thread on that cyborg piece. That is a very thought provoking story and would be great for discussion. It covers several aspects of human/machine relations and it raised several comments and questions in my mind.

Thanks! I think you should make a thread about. You can have the flags and stars as a result of being awesome!

reply to post by Romantic_Rebel


I did a search and found a few threads on it already, oh well.
That part about using human brain tissue on a micro processor is interesting.
I found this quote intriguing.

He doesn’t want to become a robot; he wants to be a better human.

Perhaps these inevitable advances will take us closer to our dreams. Then again, they may become our nightmares. I enjoy pondering the future, and what once seemed to be the distant future now seems much closer.

I think this mind reading technology is just one example of the quickening pace of transhumanism and it's potential intermingling with our destinies.
I bet when the computer can accurately detect most of our thoughts, turning it on for the first time would be a trip. You could see your own thought patterns and perhaps utilize some psychophysiological feedback exercise. One could even learn to control the thought process, as in quietening the chatter sometimes.
Supposedly we can think of up to 6 things at once, so imagine working several windows at once with a spectrum of attention specifically connected to each subject.
Hmmm... we just can't forget to step out for sunshine and fresh air sometimes.

And thanks for the kind words




[edit on 5-9-2010 by speculativeoptimist]

S&F

Originally posted by speculativeoptimist
Very cool site Rebel, much thanks!

I like that "chronicling the rise of the machines."
I'm glad someone is doing that

That site links to all of the bigshot transhumanism propaganda sites, which seek to turn humans into hive mind cyborgs drones.

Check out the AGI Manhattan Project for the real scoop.

[edit on 6-9-2010 by IgnoranceIsntBlisss]

This tech is not new, and does not read minds, it interprets the paterns of the synapsys of the brain, so in a way it reads minds by predicting the probability of what the paterns in the brain mean, the computer still needs to be told what any patern could mean by a host/human. The info on how to do this is all there as in on this planet, in books, online, the human subconscious, and nature. It's an assimilation technology a link to others whoever the others might be, both a blessing and a curse. Though I am hate typing its not that bad, imagine how fat americans will get when they wont even have to use there body's to surf the net.... I could just see it now a dude with a cheseburger in one hand and soda in another, sitting and chatting online without a keyboard or mouse, via a contraption on his head.

Originally posted by IgnoranceIsntBlisss
S&F

Originally posted by speculativeoptimist
Very cool site Rebel, much thanks!

I like that "chronicling the rise of the machines."
I'm glad someone is doing that

That site links to all of the bigshot transhumanism propaganda sites, which seek to turn humans into hive mind cyborgs drones.

Check out the AGI Manhattan Project for the real scoop.

[edit on 6-9-2010 by IgnoranceIsntBlisss]

Oh yes must not forget about that those pesky rich folks and there wish for more power and riches...Or more corectly to make sure that they are still on top come the change in time. Time always changes.

reply to post by speculativeoptimist


Flagged your post, you got there before me... was just about to post about this as i just saw it one SkyNews!! Although i actually saw this in progress on a programme last year so its not really that new.

Hmmm.... i can already read some peoples thoughts so this Tech is way behind me when it comes to reading minds....

So this is an advance to wear headsets all the time.
This might replace the large MRI machines.
That would be cool.
But then grandma never did like wearing those and will
probable be wheeled down to the MRI room after X-Rays
anyway.

IgnoranceIsntBliss - thanks for the reply and I agree, I do not want to be so much a part of the collective where hive mind is all there is. No Borgism!

galadofwarthethird - I wonder if the tech will become good enough to recognize specific engram vibrations, to truly decipher individual words at some point. I think if it can be thought of, it will eventually become practice. Yes, I hope this tech does not contribute to placidness amongst people either.

TruthxIsxInxThexMist - thanks for the reply! That mind reading has to come at a cost sometimes no? Not sure if I want to know what everyone is really thinking.

TeslaandLyne - Maybe they can disguise the headset as a blue wig to entice the older folks into wearing them.
Thanks for the reply!

spec

reply to post by speculativeoptimist


This is some scary technology. I don't think they should be allowed to see what were thinking, that's what our mouths are for, to filter the stuff we thought, but didn't mean to say. Imagine a world without that filter? It would be a nightmare. You would have to guard your thoughts constantly.

I know if this technology comes along I'll be arrested quick because all day long I think about murdering everyone and setting everything on fire. I never do it but I LOVE to think about it. So how is that fair to have someone spy on my private fantasies and then use that against me to paint me as a criminal when I did no criminal act. It's a thought crime. That's so Orwellian 1984.

This is freaking awesome! one step close to the matrix

This technology would be good for detectives...
"did you kill him?"
"not saying anything, not saying anything, not saying anything, yes, #, god dammit!"