Here’s a mind-bending idea: The US military is paying scientists to study ways to read people’s thoughts.
The hope is that the research could someday lead to a gadget capable of translating the thoughts of soldiers who suffered brain injuries in combat or even stroke patients in hospitals. But the research also raises concerns that such mind-reading technology could be used to interrogate the enemy.
GRANT
Armed with a US$4 million grant from the Army, scientists are studying brain signals to try to decipher what a person is thinking and to whom the person wants to direct the message.
The project is a collaboration among researchers at the University of California-Irvine Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Maryland.
The scientists use technology that reads brain waves known as electroencephalography, or EEG, which measures the brain’s electrical activity through electrodes placed on the scalp.
It works like this: Volunteers wear an electrode cap and are asked to think of a word chosen by the researchers, who then analyze the brain activity.
SOFTWARE
In the future, scientists hope to develop thought-recognition software that would allow a computer to speak or type out a person’s thoughts.
“To have a person think in a free manner and then figure out what that is, we’re years away from that,” said lead researcher Michael D’Zmura, who heads UC Irvine’s cognitive sciences department.
D’Zmura said such a system would require extensive training by people trying to send a message and dismisses the notion that thoughts can be forced out.
“This will never be used in a way without somebody’s real, active cooperation,” he said.
A message left with the Army was not immediately returned on Friday.
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