I once saw a video of an experiment in which experimenters trained a monkey to play a joystick video game. They then linked the monkey's brain to a computer and started recording the signals created while the monkey moved its arm and hands as it played. Then they matched the signals with the movements within the game. Once the matching was flawless, they sent the 'translated' brain signals direct, in real-time, from the monkey's brain to the game console.
What do you think the monkey did?
a. freaked out
b. got confused
c. stopped
d. played on with arm movements
e. played on using 'thought' alone.
Well, it immediately and without any apparent concern or confusion, continued playing the game using 'mind-control' alone.
You see, once we can do things by thought alone, why would we bother making an 'effort'? All this makes me think of Wall-E and the human 'master-race' (hence the picture). Oh, and in case you thought that this is all 'pie-in-the-sky', watch this:
This video features a number of scientists talking about how artificial intelligence will change or 'improve' or lives in the near future. It follows on from the one we watched in class which featured augmented reality (eg. contact lenses with internet access) and naturally-evolving artificial intelligence (called 'Polyworld') - if you want to watch again go to youtube.com/watch?v=iTE2u2aloDc&feature=related (or for the video about cities and smart dust, see youtube.com/watch?v=rKXjJZGMpVo&feature=related).
For me, the most interesting and worrying moment is when Kevin Warwick starts to explain his work. Kevin's goal is nothing less than to be the one who ushers in a new age of cyborg humans. He states:
"The future I see [as] very rosy if you are a cyborg, or if you are an artificial intelligence machine. If you are a human, well, your time's up."
If he's right, you might want to get on the winning side as soon as possible - why not apply to be his research assistant? You can find out more about him at www.kevinwarwick.com
What makes Kevin special is his degree of personal commitment. In 1998 he started experimenting with a transponder chip (inserted in his forearm) connected to his nervous system. This chip provided a link between his nervous system and other electronic devices. It allowed him to operate doors, lights, heaters and other computers without lifting a finger. He was able to use his hand movements to operate a cyborg hand or (as if he were disabled) a motorised wheelchair.
Obviously this 'connectivity' is limited as it is only one-way. So can you guess what his stage two was? To study the transmission of signals between people. He upgraded his chip and then went ahead and implanted another in his wife - so that they could 'communicate' movement to each other at a distance. And the next step? Obvious, logical and potentially frightening: to progress from movement to the transmissions of thoughts and emotions.
What do you think? Is this research exciting? interesting? irrelevant? scary? worrying? necessary? dangerous?
I once saw a video of an experiment in which experimenters trained a monkey to play a joystick video game. They then linked the monkey's brain to a computer and started recording the signals created while the monkey moved its arm and hands as it played. Then they matched the signals with the movements within the game. Once the matching was flawless, they sent the 'translated' brain signals direct, in real-time, from the monkey's brain to the game console.
