The Business Opportunities In Mind Control
An extraordinary video making the rounds today shows a monkey manipulating a robot arm simply by thinking. The question is, what’s the killer app? It’s not going to be about making robots move.
Experiments like this one involving both people and animals have been going on for years. The basic idea is simple: Electrodes worn on the head or embedded in the brain pick up brain waves and transmit them to a computer that interprets them in order to control a machine. Human subjects have proven able at using thoughts to control robot hands and move a cursor on a monitor, manipulate objects in virtual worlds, and even pilot boats.
Most popular articles on the subject (and there are lots) fall back on the obvious: thought-control of machines will be really helpful to disabled people. As the New York Times blandly put it: “Scientists expect that technology will eventually allow people with spinal cord injuries and other paralyzing conditions to gain more control over their lives.” This is surely right – paralyzed people are already test-driving the technology. But this will be a side-show for what will become the dominant application: connecting our minds directly with our avatars. This technology will make The Matrix real. Full article.
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