Fang Hongzheng read the documents in his hand, which showed that the team had successfully implanted chips into the brains of three little pigs before, including that the prototype developed by the team was worn on the head of a monkey and also obtained
expected experimental results.
This year it was finally approved to start human clinical trials.
The so-called neuron spike is a brief electrical signal pulse generated by a neuron after receiving sufficient excitatory input, which is usually used to transmit information and communicate with other neurons.
The brain chip developed by the team mainly detects the spikes of neuron discharge in the brain, and processes these spike data to interpret the user's intention. That is, by accurately detecting the activity of brain neurons, the human brain can communicate with external devices.
real-time communication.
After a while, Qin Feng said: "The brain chip tested this time is a new type of brain-computer interface. It can not only enhance the connection with the brain's visual, tactile, auditory and motor cortex, but also help treat various neurological diseases.
It can also expand the way we interact with the world and ourselves. In short, you can control your phone, computer, and indirectly control almost any device just by thinking."
It is worth mentioning that people’s concerns about brain-computer interfaces are also a commonplace topic. This kind of device that can be compared to “mind reading” makes people feel uneasy. Today’s big data can only monitor browsing records and describe user portraits.
To understand the users even better than the users themselves.
If the brain-computer technology is successfully released, what if the brain-computer chip virus becomes popular? What if the sensory experiment is about stealing ideas? Is it possible to directly hack the brain by connecting neurons? Although neurons cannot be transmitted in the reverse direction.
Nowadays, mobile apps are all about stealing all kinds of privacy permissions, so wouldn’t the brain-computer directly physically read the mind? Maybe in the future, there will be ads not only when you open your eyes, but also when you close your eyes. It’s scary to think about it.
Discussions like this are commonplace online.
Fang Hong, who was reading the material, seemed to be thinking to himself and said: "It is initially positioned as a medical device similar to a pacemaker. It is right to go in this direction."
Pacemakers also have risks. For example, they may stop working when encountering electromagnetic pulses, or even require human intervention. However, this medical device is still used. For patients, instead of worrying about future risks, they can now
Living is the most important thing.
All in all, if we start with medical devices first, the opposition will be much smaller.
Qin Feng continued: "The research team's follow-up plan is to design a device that converts brain signals into actions. Two application directions have been identified. One is to restore people's vision, and the other is to help people who cannot move muscles control smartphones.
and other equipment, even restoring the whole body functions of people with spinal cord injuries.”
After this technology matures, the first users will be those who have lost their limbs, allowing paralyzed people to stand up and walk again. This is undoubtedly a rebirth for the disabled. In comparison, he is absolutely willing to do it.
Being able to get out of a wheelchair and take care of yourself and take those risks, so what if you can really be read by others? What is privacy compared to this?
Fang Hong looked away from the material and looked at Qin Feng and asked: "Applications for restoring vision are aimed at acquired blindness? Can it be effective for people who are congenitally blind?"
Qin Feng immediately said: "It depends on the situation. Even for patients who are congenitally blind, as long as the part of their cerebral cortex that perceives vision still exists, there is a possibility of restoring vision. Currently, the brain chip of this research model needs to be surgically implanted.
Entering the inside of the skull, the operation itself is not difficult, and an excellent neurosurgeon can handle it. There are tens of thousands of microelectrodes on the chip connected to the neurons of the brain, and then controlled through wireless communication technology."
He added: "In the future, this technology can also be made non-invasive or wearable. It can be used not only by patients, but also by healthy people. It can also be enhanced and become an access terminal device for the Internet. This is also the first step of brain-computer interface technology."
The ultimate goal, of course, is also very difficult to conquer technically.”
Fang Hong also finished reading the materials, put them aside, and said in a deep voice after thinking: "This team still has something. At present, no scientific research institution in the world has used flexible electrodes thinner than a hair to build invasive brain machines."
Interfaces, invasive brain-computer interface technology that solves the problems of rejection and damage are more effective than non-invasive ones."
The so-called invasive brain-computer interface, to put it bluntly, means "opening up the brain" in a physical sense. The non-invasive brain-computer interface, to put it bluntly, means wearable devices, such as wearable helmets.
Qin Feng also nodded and said: "The obstruction of brain electrical signals by the brain skull is physical. Without a craniotomy, it is difficult to accurately detect brain waves, and it is impossible to effectively stimulate brain neurons to form vision."
Fang Hong suddenly changed the subject: "That is because the technology is not yet in place, and we need to continue to research technical problems. As a medical device similar to a pacemaker, the invasive brain-computer interface can assist specific groups of people, and the resistance will not be so great.
The target group is also a small and specific group of patients who also have urgent needs."
"But as entertainment terminal devices like smartphones and computers, it is aimed at non-specific groups with comprehensive health. There will be great resistance from various sources. Looking at it from the perspective of consumers, they have to open their heads.
Then he would rather not use it."
"Being read by others, losing personal privacy, being implanted with advertisements in dreams at night, etc. These are all secondary. What people are most worried about is the fear of becoming a 'brain in a vat' and being controlled by others without even knowing it.
There is nothing you can do about it even if you know it. Even if the possibility is extremely low, not many people are willing to try it. This kind of fear is too suffocating."
Qin Feng nodded again and said: "Indeed. If we want to achieve true universal popularization, everyone must have one like the current smartphone, and it must be a non-invasive wearable device."
If it is made into a non-invasive wearable device, such as wearing a sensory helmet device, like a VR head-mounted display device, people's acceptance will be very different, and the psychological threshold of fear will be greatly reduced.
That is to say, I have the ability to say "no" at any time, the power to "refuse" at any time, and I can follow my own decision at any time. That is, if I don't want to use it, I can just take off the sensory helmet I am wearing to disconnect without risking too much.
Big risk.
Although the invasive interface can also be disconnected, it requires surgery to open the head and take it out again, which is very troublesome. Surgery on the head is also very risky. What if there is an emergency and you become an idiot?
manage?
All in all, the difference between invasive and non-invasive, to put it bluntly, the former is easy to get on the bus and difficult to get off. Once any unknown changes occur, it may even cause the heavens and the earth to fail, which is quite desperate; the latter is easy to get on the bus.
You can jump out of the car at any time, and if you notice something is wrong, you can take off the sensing helmet device to avoid risks without having to open your head.
