Connecting Your Brain to the Cloud
“In the future, computers may weigh no more than 1.5 tonnes.”
— Popular Mechanics, 1949
Our interface with computers has changed dramatically over the years.
We’ve gone from large mechanical devices to digital screens to smartphones and more recently to voice assistants. But the most profound changes in computer interfacing are yet to come.?Pretty soon, you will be connecting your brain directly to the cloud.
All you’ll have to do is think.
The Evolution of Computers
Computers in their broadest definition are?machines that can be programmed to carry out arithmetic or logical operations automatically. They are like ‘thinking machines’ able to process bits of information in order to perform a wide variety of tasks from finding directions, sending messages to developing medicines.
We have come a long way from the clunky mechanical devices that were first developed in the 19th century. The predecessors of modern computers were difficult to run and not able to do much other than calculating very basic mathematical equations.
In the late 20th century, digital screens and software allowed us to better navigate computers and make more practical use of their functions. We even got a mouse to move around a screen with our hands and play around with computer software.
Eventually, smartphones came allowing us to carry around powerful computers in our pockets and physically touch our screens to interact with their computing functions.
Then more recently we have the advent of A.I voice assistants like Alexa and Siri that allow us to simply use our voice to use applications and search the web.
If we look at the general evolution of computers, we can see that our interface with computers is becoming increasingly natural and intuitive. They are easier to use and require less training or expertise to control. Rather than having to learn lines of code, or even know what buttons to click in what order, now all you have to do is simply ask — like talking to another human being.
But what comes next?
Connecting our brains to computers
@tomoxl on Twitter.com
The tweet above is the first-ever tweet sent using only thoughts. It was composed by Philip O’Keefe, a 62-year-old man with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), using an implanted brain-computer interface.
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A brain-computer interface (BCI) is a system that can read and translate electrical signals from the brain into specific commands or outputs used to control a computer system.?It’s like pressing a button with a keyboard, or talking to Siri — except you’re just using your thoughts.
BCIs can be planted directly into the brain (invasive) or outside of the brain (non-invasive) depending on the device.
Here are a few interesting video clips of BCIs in action:
Your brain is already connected to the cloud
For many people, the idea of connecting their brains to the cloud might sound scary and even wrong. But that is almost always the case when we encounter alien technologies or the prospects of their development (for good reason).
But in many ways, our brains are already connected to the cloud.
In a poll conducted in early 2021 in the US,?57% of respondents reported they were spending more than 5 hours on their smartphones on average . Another report claims?the average US citizen will spend 44 years of their lives looking at screens.
That’s a lot of time.
Our smartphones and other devices are already extensions of our bodies and minds. They play a huge role in how we spend our time, manage our attention and shape the actions we take in our lives.
The biggest difference that brain-computer interfaces will make is in uptime (amount of time connected to the cloud) and bandwidth (speed of access to computing and the cloud). Instead of needing to type in a query on google with our thumbs, or asking our smart assistant with our voice — we can just think about what we are looking for and the answers will spontaneously emerge.
Like recalling a memory in your mind, in the future, your thoughts might be coming directly from the cloud allowing you to access the vast storehouse of human knowledge in a fraction of an instant. You might drive a car using only your thoughts, or control, or a robotic arm to grab a snack from the fridge.
Whether you like it or not, brain-computer interfaces are coming and will be developing quickly in the coming decade(s). They will greatly enhance certain parts of our lives, and in some cases maybe make some things worse raising a host of?ethical questions .
But what is certain is that they will fundamentally change our relationship with computers, ourselves, and each other.
Stepping back
In what ways would your life be positively and negatively impacted if your brain was directly connected to computers?