Recently, historic technological breakthroughs have been made by researchers across the world who have published findings wherein artificial intelligence has been used to turn people’s thoughts into tangible text and footage others can see.
A team from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) have developed an AI tool that can interpret rodents’ brain signals through an algorithm named CEBRA.
CEBRA has been trained to map the neural activity of mice to specific video frames and, in the future, this could mean that CEBRA could be used to predict and reconstruct what a person is looking at so that we can actually see people’s thoughts on a screen.
This news comes shortly after researchers at the University of Texas at Austin also used AI to develop a decoder that can turn people’s thoughts into text and images in real time.
Both these developments are making waves in the technological and neuroscience field and are, of course, also demonstrating yet another example of how artificial intelligence is being used to achieve astounding scientific discoveries.
The AI Tools Shaping The Future Of Brain Activity Research
Ever found yourself in the frustrating situation of trying to describe something you’ve seen to a friend? Perhaps you’ve wanted to try and recount a TV show you’ve watched but can’t seem to find the right words to fully express what you’ve seen.
Well soon, you may not need to bother even finding the words.
Scientists from EPFL have been experimenting with the possibility of being able to project mental images onto a big screen with mice using CEBRA.
CEBRA is a machine-learning algorithm which from giving mice a film to watch can learn which of their brain signals is associated with which frame. Then, by giving CEBRA some new brain activity it has not seen before, it can predict what the mouse had been watching at the time.
Researchers at EPFL turned this information into a CEBRA-generated film that could be compared with the original.
An example video shows a mouse watching a 1960s black and white movie clip of a man running to a car who opens the trunk. A separate screen shows what CEBRA thinks the mouse is looking at, which is a nearly identical video, albeit a bit more glitchy.
Whilst CEBRA is not completely accurate yet, its accuracy rating is still around an impressive 95%, giving researchers at EPFL a real reason to have high hopes for what the AI tool will be able to achieve in the future.
This week, news also broke regarding researchers at the University of Texas at Austin who have also developed mind-reading technology which can transcribe people’s thoughts in real time based on the blood flow in their brains.
A university study put three people in MRI machines and got them to listen to stories and, researchers claim that they produced a rolling text of people’s thoughts. This breakthrough is particularly exciting as, for the first time ever, this kind of mind-reading technology worked without the use of a brain implant.
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What These Breakthroughs Mean For The Future Of Neuroscience
Although both CEBRA and the mind-reading technology developed at the University of Texas at Austin are still in the early stages of development, they both shed new light on how the brain processes information and could be a platform for discovering new principles in neuroscience.
This kind of technology offers the potential for people who are mentally aware yet unable to speak, like stroke victims or those with motor neurone disease, to communicate without needing to talk.
This concept is already being worked on by Elon Musk’s company, Neuralink, which is working on a brain implant that could provide direct communication with computers.
However, the new non-invasive kind of technology that is being worked on at the University of Texas at Austin may provide a way to read thoughts without any kind of brain implant or surgery being required.
The technology developed at the university uses a decoder which incorporates both a computer model to interpret people’s brain activity and language-processing technology similar to ChatGPT to help generate possible words.
Dr Alexander Huth, the senior author of the study from the University of Texas at Austin, said: “For a non-invasive method, this is a real leap forward compared to what’s been done before, which is typically single words or short sentences.”
‘We were kind of shocked that this worked as well as it does.”
Where Does This Technology Leave Mental Privacy?
It is doubtless that there are huge benefits to this new kind of technology, especially in the neuroscience and medical fields, but where exactly do these breakthroughs leave us when it comes to privacy of thought?
The technology developed at the University of Texas at Austin has already been criticised for what it might mean for people’s mental privacy.
There are concerns this new king of technology could be used by, for example, a regime interrogating political prisoners or an employer spying on employees.
Jerry Tang, the lead author of the study at the university, admitted that he cannot provide “a false sense of security” that the technology might not have the potential to be used to eavesdrop on people’s thoughts in the future,
“We want to dedicate a lot of time moving forward to try to try to avoid that.”
“I think, right now, while the technology is in such an early state, it’s important to be proactive and get a head-start on enacting policies that protect people’s mental privacy, giving people a right to their thoughts and their brain data.”
“We want to make sure that people only use these when they want to, and that it helps them.” he finished.
Dr Huth also explained that the technology can only read an individual’s thoughts after being trained on their thought patterns. As such, it could not be applied to someone secretly.
“If people don’t want to have something decoded from their brains, they can control that using just their cognition – they can think about other things, and then it all breaks down.”, he explained.
So, it seems researchers are confident in the safety of mind-reading technology moving forward as it is not in the power of AI tools to see any brain activity a person does not want to show.
Nonetheless, these recent breakthroughs remain incredibly exciting, if still a little frightening, and promise to pave significant advances in the neuroscience field.
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