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Researchers from Wits University have linked a brain directly to the internet. Data gathered from this project could help fuel the next steps in machine learning and brain-computer interfaces.It’s been dubbed the “Brainternet” project, and it essentially turns the brain “…into an Internet of Things (IoT) node on the World Wide Web.”
Ever seen a movie "Transcendence", where a scientist's drive for artificial intelligence, takes on dangerous implications when his consciousness is uploaded into one such program? Then this technology shouldn't be a surprise at all because most of us who watched the movie anticipated the real life application of such technologies A team of scientists at Wits University in Johannesburg, South Africa for the first time ever have devised a way of connecting the human brain to the internet in real time.
This is not easy When the likes of Elon Musk and the US military’s secretive science wing are having difficulties with AI technologies in general, it seems a bit surprising that such an institute with considerably less funding has managed it. So what exactly have they done?
According to a press release, the team of neuroscientists and engineers have used an electroencephalogram (EEG) – a device that detects electrical signals in the brain – to transmit neurological activity to a cheap Raspberry Pi computer. This then live streams the data to a program running on a website that anyone can view at any time.
“Ultimately, we're aiming to enable interactivity between the user and their brain so that the user can provide a stimulus and see the response,” and further more “Brainternet can be further improved to classify recordings through a smart phone app that will provide data for a machine-learning algorithm,” which means that “in the future, there could be information transferred in both directions – inputs and outputs to the brain," project coordinator Adam Pantanowitz, a lecturer said in a statement. Although researchers observing EEG readings do this already, this effectively allows more people, including the subject themselves, to see what’s happening up in their head.
“Ultimately, we're aiming to enable interactivity between the user and their brain so that the user can provide a stimulus and see the response,” and further more “Brainternet can be further improved to classify recordings through a smart phone app that will provide data for a machine-learning algorithm,” which means that “in the future, there could be information transferred in both directions – inputs and outputs to the brain," project coordinator Adam Pantanowitz, a lecturer said in a statement. Although researchers observing EEG readings do this already, this effectively allows more people, including the subject themselves, to see what’s happening up in their head.
Future applications for this project could lead to some very exciting breakthroughs in machine learning and brain-computer interfaces.Data collected from this project could lead to a better understanding of how our minds work and how we can take advantage of that knowledge to augment our brain power.
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