Weekly Brief: Insane in the mem-brain?

Get the Weekly Brief straight in your inbox: Mind-reading tech is closer than you think. In July, Elon Musk announced that one of his companies, Neuralink, will start human trials by the end of 2020 for an implantable wireless system that purports to read minds. It already has over $158m in funding. Facebook is also […]

Weekly Brief: Insane in the mem-brain?

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Mind-reading tech is closer than you think. In July, Elon Musk announced that one of his companies, Neuralink, will start human trials by the end of 2020 for an implantable wireless system that purports to read minds. It already has over $158m in funding. Facebook is also working on a mind-reading headset, and has made big breakthroughs recently as Facebook-backed UCSF scientists have just demonstrated that it’s possible to use brain-wave technology to decode speech. Even Nissan have waded into the fray – their Brain-to-Vehicle Technology will enable vehicles to interpret signals from the driver’s brain, potentially redefining how people interact with their cars.

These developments are exciting… but they’re also terrifying. They could prove revolutionary (in a positive way!) for people with paralysis and other neurological disorders. In fact, Neuralink’s current goal is to create devices that, once implanted, enable people to control practically any device with their minds. This could drastically improve the lives of patients with debilitating physical limitations and usher in a new era of modern medicine. But, should we be wary of embracing mind-reading technology with open arms? If it’s not properly monitored and regulated the consequences could be devastating. Imagine a world where governments, corporations and even your boss (!) knew your innermost thoughts and feelings! Pretty scary. Who would own ‘brain data’ and what if ‘brainhacking’ became commonplace? The very idea of hackers gaining control of people’s brains and modifying them sounds like it should be the plot of a dystopian movie, but it’s a very real possibility in our lifetime. Pacemakers have been hacked before… so why not neural-implants?

So what’s the general takeaway? We need to proceed. with . caution. If used correctly and ethically, mind-reading technology could positively impact millions of people, but if used incautiously it could wreak global havoc. At Work in Startups, we love innovation and disruption in start ups – but we must innovate and disrupt responsibly!

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Weekly Brief: We’ve got a Sixth Sensor

This week on the weekly brief we are discussing sweaty sensors, mind control and smart gloves. We’re exploring the interesting developments in the tech behind sensors. Plus: giving you a shortlist of our favourite startup jobs from the site this week! […]

Weekly Brief: We’ve got a Sixth Sensor

Move over Elon Musk, you’re not the only one who wants to read minds!

Facebook unveiled their Brain API Beta at F8, aiming to “integrate people’s thoughts into the next generation of apps”. Given the less-than-discreet reputation Facebook has earned, this is understandably putting some noses out of joint (would you trust them with your thoughts?) But putting privacy or morality to one side (*fingers firmly in ears*), we instead want to look at the awesome tech behind the project. Their team of scientists and developers are treading new ground in both BioTech implants and “neural machine learning”. Thinking as positively as possible, the tech could completely revolutionise treatment plans for neurological disorders. Seems a noble enough cause?

Another group using sensors to potentially tackle the way we treat debilitating disease (and pick up weapons in VR video games) are the team behind the ‘Stretch-Sensing Soft Glove.’ This glove accurately captures intricate hand movements without the need for optical tracking (watch them show off the product and absolutely slam their competitors below!) Meanwhile teams at UC Berkeley and Stanford have both developed similarly thin sensors to track even more biometric data about us “glamorously” through our sweat! Shows just how versatile and open this field is. So, whether you’re prepared to deal with the ickier privacy concerns of neural implants, or just want your sensors to be plain sticky, it looks like this tech will be a major part of future wellness and health. Really it’s just common sense(or)!

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