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Week 11 [9.01-15.01] Is mind reading the future?

 
EEG waves shows the frequency which reflects the state of human mind and they may become in the future a common way to communicate with every device and everything among. This will will be allowed thanks to bands such as Melon, Neeuro or Emotiv. 


These devices are already on the market, they are not cheap and not yet operating as thoroughly as they should, but in most cases they work satisfactorily. The appropriate frequency of EEG waves reflect what happens in the human head and beyond. What he or she sees, hears and in general what is the situation in which someone is located, and of course it is possible to play game too! For example, with the special application for mobile devices, you can use these headbands to play a simple game, "thinking" about what should ball do and where should go. We can see it all up to date on the screen of our computer or smartphone. It works not only through the mind, but also by analyzing the reaction of the players body. This opens the way for completely new solutions and experiences. 




The future of this issue may look very promising, which gives a lot of opportunities but also concerns. For example, the theft of memories. Different experiments have shown that this is possible. and in my opinion this is the greatest threat and disaster associated with this technology. Stealing someone's memories, or someone's secrets, the most important ones, including all possible passwords, knowledge, someone's abilities, qualities and so on. Someone could use this knowledge to the worst possible ideas and to blackmail. It sounds awful and like lame science fiction, but in the future this might be the fact and we need slowly begin to prepare in the near future for this kind of reality. The progress always comes with this kind of flaws. On the other hand the advantages such as improved mood and concentration a bit overshadowed this drawback, but there are more. With this technology we would understood better ourselves and our "inside". From the beginning of our life we could ​​know our abilities, capabilities, advantages and disadvantages. We will be better studing and understanding our brains, which still are large mystery, as well as their illnesses, the mental and  the physical once. People with disabilities thanks to this type of combination of biology and technology will be dealing much better in their lifes with them, or even they will be able to recover lost or never possessed skills and capabilities. We are facing a very interesting times. I really recommend the Dark Mirror series, which has already been metioned recently on this blog and it is on the Netfilix platform, about which I have wrote in my second article. Few episodes from all three seasons are facing human brain issues and its contact with technology. While watching this I really see the future more or less and it seems even more curious, interesting and unpredictable than you might think. 



What do you think of this type of wristband? Does that make sense according to you? Do people in the future will use this type of equipment? Is this really a threat?

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Comments

Unknown said…
For as long as it's not a 'direct' connection to our minds through nervous system it seems really safe to me. I support such inventions. But I can't find intresting applications of such technology for myself yet.
Ihor Ahnianikov said…
I think that it would be really useful as an input device for computers, but it's all about implementation - for example if it collects some data (and you may never know it) then it's a real threat, reading minds sounds like something close to Orwell's "1984".
Unknown said…
In my opinion it's a real threat; I can't imagine stealing people's thoughts, memories and passwords. Society has a tendency to come up with the new inventions all the time, that's a good thing, however, we should have in the back of our minds what a serious damage this new technology could cause.
Unknown said…
Don't panic just yet, though. Before cybercrooks can hack your mind, they have to get you to wear the headset. And unless they trick you, you'd probably know an attack was occurring if you started seeing a bunch of random PIN numbers flash on your screen while hooked up to the gizmo :)
Unknown said…
In my opinion it is unnecessary. This is useful only in one case. To check whether a person is lying. I don't want that a machine stole me my memories. On the other hand, can be useful for people crippled for example: I saw a prototype prosthetic arm, which is connected to the head and just can move this prosthetic arm. It is amazing and very helpful
Unknown said…
To be honest, 5 years ago I was attending series of lectures where lecturer had such wristband. It was not as precisely as we would like to be, but he was able to change slides on presentation, change mouse position, clicked on links etc. It was a prototype of such device - not available in the market. Then I was impressed, but the same like you, asked myself: "what if one day somebody steal my thoughts?".

Of course, it's too early to panic (as Damian said), because there isn't such possibility yet, but we should be conscious that one day it could be. In my opinion, our memories and thoughts are one of the most valueable parts of us, so we should think how to prevent from stealing it.
Unknown said…
I cannot agree at all. I think it will be the same like nowadays is with our smartphones. Nobody has to "force" us to keep private information and photos. Thanks to smartphones we have so much possibilities that we want to keep it there. The same will be with headphones - it will be so comfortable that we will dream about wearing it.
Unknown said…
It is a great threat, but what isn't? People are afraid of everything what is new and unknwon. This device, when it will be available, will be just a device and it depends only on users how it will be used. Of course, there is a threat of stealing thoughts, but today there is no thing, which couldn't be stolen - doceuments, data, photos. When such technology will be in use there will be better security for such data for sure, but you can't prevents all of the thefts.
Unknown said…
My firend make an interactibe installation using such a EEG device. It's nice gadget but still it isn't very precision. This installation measured the level of relaxation and if you were relaxed enough then be opened a box with a prize. More advanced readers wave EEG can read our emotions (positive or negative). I'm very curious as to develop this technology and what it will be used.
Moode said…
The possibility of reading someone’s mind seems really tempting. I understand the threats that may come out from this. However it makes me wonder if we could somehow get to store our memory just in case we get ill or simply if someone gets amnesia, will we be able to bring this person his or hers memory back? I hope so.

By the way did you mean the Black Mirror?
Every invention will have good and bad ways of use. Just looks at guns, computers etc. Personally I would try this kind of wristband just to be sure how it really works. The article looks interesting. What is the price range currently on it ? Can you buy it already or just Kickstarters?
It's awesome, I'm always happy to read about new super interesting technology such as this, and I strongly believe that eventually it will become next "big thing" in a few years from now. Mind-reading can be super useful, not only for average humans, but especially for disabled people that can have physical problems e.g. with writing or playing games, I believe it will help everyone in long-run.
Michał Pycek said…
It is impressing what kind of innovative technologies scientists can invent in relation to human brain and the way it works. Of course such inventions can have advantages and be helpful, however on the other hand, there is always a possibility of misusage. I think that any invention can be harmful to people if it is being used by the wrong person. Regardless of whether it is mind reading, GPS or weapons - sometimes they can be used with good intentions, sometimes with the terrible ones.
Unknown said…
Wow...that's very interesting, but exciting and disturbing equally at the same time. I would like to use this thing once to see how does it work, but I'm not sure if I would like to read people in minds. It just feels not right for me. Also I would like to keep my thoughts for myself. Maybe it will help with something, some issues, health problems or physical problems, but...also there is a lot of bad ways to use it.
Unknown said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said…
For the time when it’s safe for our mind, I don’t see any contraindications to use it. It would be really powerful device to control our computers and phones, however, we must be careful with these kind of technology. Probably no one would like to read their thoughts by unwanted person.
Unknown said…
I think that such devices is just a sign of time. It surely might be useful and will help a lot of people, but i would not be too afraid of it. Electromagnetic waves can be as easily zeroed as they are created, so I think that popularization of such devices will only create new market: for clothes preventing others from reading your mind.
I have mixed feelings about such devices. On the one hand they could open up unimaginable opportunities and have many potential benefits. On the other hand reading someone's mind introduced many risks. What concerns me most is that when we master mind-reading techniques, there will be always someone who will take the next step - manage to establish two-way connection.
Bartosz Łyżwa said…
It's great idea to control some devices by our mind but I don't know if it's really safe for us. It could be great to play games or communicate via those devices with other people. If there will be any possibility to test devices like that on my own I'm sure that I'll try to do that :)
Unknown said…
But aren't we live in kind of "1984" these days? All of our private life, which we keep in the most cases in our smartphones or pcs are in hands for the governments and corporations that allow us to use their technology. It will be just another, not as significant as we all might think step in breaking into our privacy.
Unknown said…
Yes, of course I meant Black Mirror. I agree it's great idea and it was somehow mentioned in the Black Mirror, in this episode in firt season where in the future, you can view your memories and analyze them. I particularly liked that scene at the airport when the main character, along with other fellow passengers had quickly checked the memories from last week if his not maybe dangerous in some way. This type of technology would be very useful for people with diseases such as Alzheimer's or problems like amnesia.
KamilG said…

Yeah, is the Black Mirror, I’ve watched this serie too and it made big impression on me. As Paulina said, people are afraid new and unknown things. I think this technology could help people, for example to control their prosthesis arm, leg, other parts of our body, which now can’t replace the original one fully. Personally, I’m not enthusiast this kind of technology, because even now, with smartphones, smartwatches, Gear Vrs, we are more and more addicted to it. Our generation sometimes has social problems, with interpersonal communication. The question is what this technology would affect on our brains in long-term perspective, if it could modify our thoughts and therefore behaviours?
Andrzej Gulak said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said…
It really makes impression, but I am not sure, that I am ready for this stuff. I like my privacy in all the parts of my life, that's why the idea of stealing my thoughts scares me a lot. Even if I would have nothing to hide, I just want to control my private things.
But I must admit, that it is a great job, which is done by really smart people and I admire it.
I know that technological progress is unstoppable, but sometimes this changes are too much surprising.
I don't really think it would be a threat. Maybe for now. This technology is on the begging of its journey and there are so many things that have to be done. Of course it is a future and I'm looking forward to it. I hope this technology will be available in my lifetime. There are always advantages and disadvantages but I think development in general is good for everyone. I've already seen mind-controlled games and it is really amazing and astonishing. This technology is not easy so I admire everyone who works on it. It is really impressive.

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