Ever since humans started to gather knowledge which ultimately transformed us from being a cave person to a modern day ‘Homo sapiens’, our brains haven’t changed at all which is quite fascinating because the same brain which could hardly figure out how to light a fire could also solve some complex differential equations. This tells us that the human brain is extremely elastic and can easily reprogram itself according to the surroundings.
So what Exactly is Brain-Computer Interface?
Brain-computer interface (BCI) is a direct communication pathway between an enhanced or wired brain and an external device. Basically, a telepathy service between the brain and the computer. Now, this might sound like anything straight out of some sci-fi movie, but it’s merely a few years away from being a fully operational tech.
The working of neurons serves as a fundamental principle behind BCI. Our brains are packed with neurons, which are nerve cells linked to one another using the dendrites, axon, and nerve endings. With each of our action, thought or haptic movement these neurons spark up carrying out a small electric signal as fast as 400 kmph. Although the paths which signals follow are insulated with myelin, some of these signals escape which are then detected by an electroencephalograph (EEG) thereby allowing us to interpret them. To get a higher-resolution signal, scientists can implant electrodes directly into the gray matter of the brain itself, or on the surface of the brain, beneath the skull. This allows for much more direct reception of electric signals and allows electrode placement in the specific area of the brain where the appropriate signals are generated.
Brace yourself, as I’m going to bombard you with some amazing insights using this principle.
Researchers implanted a chip which was basically an array of tiny electrodes into the motor cortices [the region of the cerebral cortex involved in the planning, control, and execution of voluntary movements] and another into the spinal ending of a Rhesus monkey who was paralyzed due to a spinal cord injury. The chip registers basic signals from the brain—such as intent to move—and sends them to the spinal implant with virtually no delay and no cumbersome wires restricting movement, and as a result the monkey took 6 days to learn to walk again using the implants. All he had to do was to think about the voluntary movements and voilà he was able to actually perform them.
In another experiment, researchers embedded a chip in a mouse and made it to solve a puzzle in order to get the food. They recorded the brain activity of the mouse during the experiment and stimulated the same in another mouse. As a result, the second mouse was able to solve the puzzle instantly, Thereby proving that knowledge was passed on between the two mouse subjects.
This small experiment extended possibilities to a lot of other stuff that could be a reality in coming years. Like, imagine a chip being placed into our brains, enabling us to access all the world’s information just with a mere thought. We could literally google “Cute Dog pics” in our brain and get all the images stimulated in our brain.
There could be a whole industry revolving around this experience, for example someone who has just done scuba diving can share the experience by selling his memories and the other person buying it would be able to have that memories without even actually performing it.
We won’t even need to go to any schools or any universities. The knowledge can literally be passed on to us, which means, one day you are a Doctor and the next day you are a Computer Engineer.
Apart from education and entertainment industry, there would a whole new work culture revolving around this technology. All the hazardous and odd jobs we mortals are subjected to on daily basics could be easily done by robots who would be controlled by our thoughts, thereby shielding us from any danger.
There are literally thousands of applications one could think of. But just like any other tech, where there is a boon, there’s always a curse. There are lots of Black Hat Hackers already messing around with our system's, gathering all the personal intel. Now imagine a human brain being hacked by one such hacker. In such circumstances, the victim would literally be controlled by the hacker, making us the perfect humanoid robot. But that shouldn’t stop from exploring and creating new tech, after all we are the most superior beings on earth, rising from expressing ourselves via cave painting to literally creating a virtual world.