• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to footer

Technologies.org

Technology Trends: Follow the Money

  • Sponsored Post
    • Make a Contribution
  • Technology Events 2022-2023
  • Technology Domains
  • Technology Markets
  • Venture Capital
  • Contact
    • About

Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) in the New Report From The Economist

January 4, 2018 By Technologies.org Leave a Comment

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) open up communications channels between minds and machines and have already achieved remarkable things, says Andrew Palmer, The Economist’s business affairs editor and author of a Technology Quarterly report on brains and machines. Published in the January 7th edition of the The Economist and online at www.economist.com the report assesses the latest research into BCIs and measures the gap between today’s reality and the ambitions of the neurotechnology visionaries.

BCI technology has already been employed in the form of implants in the brains of paralysed people, helping them to control prosthetic arms, move cursors and even reanimate their own limbs. Now the pace of research into BCIs and the scale of its ambition is increasing. America’s armed forces are keen to build better implants. And Silicon Valley is starting to focus on these technologies. Facebook is working on thought-to-text typing. Kernel, founded by entrepreneur Bryan Johnson, has $100m to spend on neurotechnology. Elon Musk has formed a firm called Neuralink, hoping to upgrade human intelligence in order to survive the advent of artificial intelligence.

Brain-Computer Interfaces

These entrepreneurs envisage a world in which people can communicate telepathically, with each other and with machines, or do things that are not possible at present, such as hearing at very high frequencies. But The Economist’s report notes that three formidable barriers stand in the way:

Technological:
Non-invasive ways of reading the brain are unable to provide high-resolution signals
Current invasive implants carry risks of infection because wires go through the scalp
Existing implants interact with only a small number of neurons

Scientific:
Scientists still do not know exactly how the brain works
Experiments on humans are hard to pull off, for regulatory and other reasons

Commercial:
It takes time, money and expertise to get medical devices approved
Commercial applications will take off only if they are obviously useful
Unless in urgent need of treatment, consumers will resist the idea of implants

The Economist’s report looks at efforts now under way to read and stimulate brain activity, both invasively and non-invasively, and considers the practical and ethical difficulties involved in moving neurotechnology from the lab into clinical and consumer applications. Solving these problems will take a great deal of time and effort. Even so, a big leap forward for brain-computer interfaces, argues Andrew Palmer, is looking increasingly likely.

Related

Filed Under: Tech Tagged With: Brain-Computer Interfaces

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Footer

Recent Posts

  • Infinitum Electric Raises $80M in Series D Funding Led by Riverstone Holdings to Scale Production of Sustainable Motors
  • Introducing IonQ Forte, Improving Quantum Performance with a Software-Configurable Dynamic Laser System
  • Cloudflare Unveils New SQL Database Offering
  • Cloudflare announces Workers for Platforms
  • Intel is rolling out new processors designed for data centers
  • EU moves to wean itself off Russian fossil fuels
  • A New Hydrogen-Powered Behemoth
  • BAE Systems to Bring Next-Generation Electric Drive System to Heavy-Duty Industrial Vehicle Market
  • MEMS Speakers Are Replacing Balanced Armature Speakers
  • Trends in data and analytics

Media Partners

  • VPNW
  • S3H
  • OPINT
  • Press Media Release
  • OSINT
  • Digital Market
  • Briefly

Media Partners

  • Technology Conferences
  • Event Sharing Network
  • Defense Conferences
  • Cybersecurity Events
  • Event Calendar
  • Calendarial
  • Opinion
  • Venture Capital

Copyright © 2015 Technologies.org

Technologies, Market Analysis & Market Research Reports

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT