This post is also available in Dutch.
This article is the second of the Donders Wonders summer series. During summer, we will post four biweekly
articles to dive into the brain from four angles. Perfect for reading by the pool.
Breakthroughs with Brain-Computer Interfaces
In January 2024, Elon Musk announced that Neuralink had successfully implanted a ‘mind-reading’ device in a human patient’s head. A car accident had left the man paralysed, but thanks to the implant, he was able to move a cursor on a computer using only his thoughts!
The implant that Neuralink developed is an example of one of the most fascinating and transformative advancements in neurotechnology, known as Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs). By having a computer system read out our brain activity, these innovative systems create a direct communication pathway between the human brain and external devices, enabling humans to control computers, prosthetics, and other devices using only their thoughts. Developments like these provide new possibilities for medicine and the comforts of daily life, but they also raise concerns.
What could go wrong?
Directly controlling computers or appliances with your brain or enhancing your cognitive abilities or behaviour by altering your brain activity with a machine might sound like fiction. However, these things might make their way into daily life with further development of BCIs. One of the primary concerns of this potential is the misuse of BCIs to manipulate or expose people’s thoughts without consent. These mind-reading and mind-control issues raise profound ethical dilemmas, as the ability to directly access and alter our brain activity might have profound implications. For example, it could exacerbate social inequalities or infringe on individual autonomy.
Additionally, implementing BCIs necessitates top-notch protection of our neural activity data against unauthorised access and misuse. This includes cybersecurity; BCIs could become targets of a hack to compromise neural control over prosthetic limbs or other devices. As we advance towards a future intertwined with BCIs, it is essential to develop comprehensive regulations and security measures to mitigate these risks and ensure the technology is used responsibly and ethically.
Brain-Computer Interfaces Improve and Restore Your Abilities
Brain-computer interfaces are highly anticipated for their application in medicine, as they can restore sight, hearing, movement, communication, and even cognitive function.
Looking Through the Lens
A team of scientists from the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, including several researchers from the Donders Institute, worked on optimising a visual cortical prosthesis. They mount a camera between the eyes that continuously records the visual scene in front of the patient. A mobile computer transforms the camera input and sends it to an implant in the patient’s brain that stimulates the visual system, enabling the previously blinded person to see again!
Tuning Into Clarity
Brain-computer interfaces can also be used to improve hearing aids. Hearing aids have been vital for individuals with hearing impairments, yet they often fall short in noisy environments because of the “cocktail party effect”. This phenomenon occurs when all surrounding sounds are amplified, making focusing on a single audio source difficult. Researchers at KU Leuven have been pioneering an innovative solution to this problem with cutting-edge BCI technology that uses electroencephalography (EEG) to monitor brain activity, allowing the hearing aid to determine which audio stream the user is trying to focus on. By identifying the listener’s intended sound source, the hearing aid can enhance it while suppressing background noise.
The Primes and Peril of Computerised Mind Reading
The promise of Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) is profound. From enabling paralyzed individuals to interact with computers through their thoughts to restoring sight and hearing, BCIs can transform lives in ways previously thought to be the stuff of science fiction. However, alongside these exciting developments, we must also address the significant concerns surrounding privacy, ethics, and cybersecurity to ensure we don’t end up in a George Orwell Dystopia. The future of BCIs is bright, but it requires our collective care to fully realise its potential in a way that benefits all of humanity.
Credits
Authors: Swantje Neil and Maartje Koot
Translation: Lucas Geelen
Editor translation: Maartje Koot
Image by ThisisEngineering on Unsplash
