Your brain on the internet

The communicator badge, the enhanced vision visor that Geordie LaForge wears, and the attached and embedded technology of the Borg are all examples of wearable computing, in a sense, but they also represent a continuum of connection. The badge is strictly wearable. The visor comes on and off, but it has a neural connection as well. And the Borg implants redefine the humanity of the beings they connect to, making them half man, half machine, but also connecting them together in a networked hive. That continuum of connection moves from external devices to a brain-computer interface.  These techno-neuro connections exist today, in cochlear implants for example. The real brain-computer connection still seems like the stuff of science fiction, like William Gibson’s biosofts. That sort of invasive connection poses a medical ethics problem. But what about a non-invasive interface? When I first heard about InteraXon’s technology a few years ago, I thought it was so far out that I had to double check to make sure it wasn’t a hoax. Their Muse headband, like Emotiv’s EPOC, pick up brain waves through EEG sensors. DARPA is sponsoring research into using this technology for telepathy. If we take Moore’s Law into consideration, how far away is a Borg and biosoft future?


4 Responses to Your brain on the internet

  1. iamTalkyTina says:

    Well, maybe you remember some Friends of Mine from the seventies called Steve Austin and Jamie Sommers that had parts that they wore in their arm, legs. Plus, Steve had an eye and Jamie had an ear and Oscar and Rudi could listen in on the SMART board by remote.

    So that was quite a while ago.

    Plus, I don’t normally mention my wind-up, but I have that. In my back.

    Well, bye!

  2. James Dawson says:

    You mention the Muse headband, but have you seen the Nekomini? It’s a really strange use of brainwave technology.

    • phb256 says:

      I saw that. It seems like we’re at the point where people are using brainwave tech just to use it, sort of like the early PC/internet days. But through using it, we will get a better understanding of brainwaves and the brain, and find much more practical uses for the technology.

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