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Brain-Computer Interfaces – Are You in the Know?

I had the pleasure and privilege of sitting next to an amazing, down to earth, and brilliant teenager recently at an event where she was the closing keynote speaker. Ananya Chadha, an expert on artificial intelligence, talked about some of the things that she learned.

One particularly interesting part of her talk was on brain-computer interfaces. She cited a study at Duke University from a few years ago, where rats were able to communicate instructions to each other using implants in their brains. Essentially, this allowed them to have telepathic communication. She also cited a study where a paralyzed monkey was able to walk again due to brain implants that bypassed the injury to stimulate required muscles.

Researchers and companies like Facebook, Neuralink (via Elon Musk), and Kernel are further researching brain-computer interactions.

In the future, she and others have predicted, people will have chips in their brains that will allow them to communicate with each other and on the internet. Since our brains will be online, what will stop humans from one day being hacked, just like a computer can be hacked today?

Our Take

Of course, this is a scary thought, but as business leaders we don't have to sit back and let things happen without influence. Here are some things you can do:

1. Get informed: Info-Tech and other research groups are great resources to help you stay on top of the latest IT news. Make sure you understand what is going on in the world before passing judgement.
2. Get involved: Shape the future by contributing to the research. Brain science is very complex; start with basic tools and experimentation to get your brain wrapped around this space (pun intended):
• https://github.com/OpenBCI
• https://www.emotiv.com/
• http://neurosky.com/
• https://www.bci2000.org/mediawiki/index.php/Main_Page
3. Get active: If the research involves something you feel strongly about, say something, but make sure you're well-informed first!

Want to Know More?

• ANANYA
• The Brief History of Brain Computer Interfaces
• A Beginner’s Guide to Brain-Computer Interface and Convolutional Neural Networks
• Hacking Your Brain Waves: A Guide to Wearable Meditation Headsets