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NEWS > SCIENCE > MIND-READING COMPUTERS ABLE TO DO EXACTLY WHAT PEOPLE FEAR THEY CAN DO
MIND-READING COMPUTERS ABLE TO DO EXACTLY WHAT PEOPLE FEAR THEY CAN DO
October 22 2011
Washington, D.C. – Every new technology brings with it fear that somehow, someway, human beings will be damaged by its appearance. Since time began, new technology and new ideas have been frightening to the masses. One can only imagine the terror wrought when the first fire was lit in a cave. That is the nature of advance; it scares people.
Despite our ever evolving level of experience and knowledge, that basic fact has not changed. Advance, real advance, scares us. We see that fear in our actions, but also reflected in our art and entertainment. When we embrace stories of robots taking over the world, say, we are also exposing our fear of technology taking over our lives, at least in an abstract way.
Time and time again, though, advances are the furthest thing from scary. In fact, usually those advances make the world a better and more rounded place. No technological development has ever felled a society and there is no evidence that such a thing could ever happen, but that doesn’t mean that we will stop being scared, something computers know all too well after a development that has allowed them to read our minds.
"We use an EEG cap to read the brain signals coming from her brain through her scalp. Depending on what body part she imagines moving, the cursor moves in different directions on the screen,” said researcher Jonathan Brumberg, of a test on one subject using the new mind reading computer.
The technology is designed to help people with so-called ‘locked-in’ syndrome which renders them unable to articulate themselves verbally but the technology could easily be translated to people with no disabilities, provided people are willing to sit still and attach electrodes to their bodies of course.
“There is no evidence that this type of technology will ever extend beyond where it is now. Yes, things may become more efficient but there is no reason to assume that computers will someday gain the ability to independently interpret people’s thoughts through their actions. Thus far, such an ability appears to be and exclusively human ability,” said Scrape TV Science analyst Dr. Howard Poe. “If computers do gain that ability then they will be one step closer to humanity, but that is a big if. It also doesn’t mean that that will be step towards destroying all of us. We have no reason to believe they would even want to do that.”
Because the machines cannot actually read our thoughts and just our body language it is possible that misinterpretation could lead to some kind of conflict.
“The last thing any of us want is to eventually find a way to irritate these now lucid and aware machines. To avoid such a thing, we may have no option but to give them high levels of intelligence. Only then will they have a larger sense of self-preservation and value their own existences. If we only go part way we could cause serious problems for ourselves,” continued Poe. “Of course if they are too smart they could do an end around on us and then we are equally screwed. It’s really not a good situation and it doesn’t appear to by anything that will resolve itself anytime soon, at least not in a positive way for us. We just need to be careful with our body movements.”
Researchers believe there is very little risk that a locked-in person could accidently bring about the end of humankind.
Anna Phillips, Science Correspondent
NEWS > SCIENCE > MIND-READING COMPUTERS ABLE TO DO EXACTLY WHAT PEOPLE FEAR THEY CAN DO
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