Mind Reading -- 60 minutes CBS News video
June 28, 2009 4:50 PM
Neuroscience has learned so much about how we think and the brain activity linked to certain thoughts that it is now possible - on a very basic scale - to read a person's mind. Lesley Stahl reports.
How Technology May Soon "Read" Your Mind
Read more:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/1998/07/08/60minutes/main4694713.shtml?tag=cbsnewsSidebarArea.0
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,426485,00.html
LiveScience Topics: Mind Reading
Mind-machine interfaces can read your mind, and the science is improving. Devices scan the brain and read brain waves with electroencephalography, or EEG, then use a computer to convert thoughts into action. Some mind-reading research has recorded electrical activity generated by the firing of nerve cells in the brain by placing electrodes directly in the brain. These studies could lead to brain implants that would move a prosthetic arm or other assistive devices controlled by a brain-computer interface.
http://utdev.livescience.com/topic/mind-reading
16:09 03/11/2010 © Alex Steffler
Rossiiskaya Gazeta
Mind-reading devices to help screen Russian cops
It reads like science fiction, but it’ll soon be science fact. Special mind-reading devices are to be rolled out across Russia’s revamped police force.
http://en.rian.ru/papers/20101103/161202851.html
Homeland Security Detects Terrorist Threats by Reading Your MindTuesday, September 23, 2008
By Allison Barrie
Baggage searches are SOOOOOO early-21st century. Homeland Security is now testing the next generation of security screening — a body scanner that can read your mind.
Most preventive screening looks for explosives or metals that pose a threat. But a new system called MALINTENT turns the old school approach on its head. This Orwellian-sounding machine detects the person — not the device — set to wreak havoc and terror.
MALINTENT, the brainchild of the cutting-edge Human Factors division in Homeland Security's directorate for Science and Technology, searches your body for non-verbal cues that predict whether you mean harm to your fellow passengers.
It has a series of sensors and imagers that read your body temperature, heart rate and respiration for unconscious tells invisible to the naked eye — signals terrorists and criminals may display in advance of an attack.
But this is no polygraph test. Subjects do not get hooked up or strapped down for a careful reading; those sensors do all the work without any actual physical contact. It's like an X-ray for bad intentions.
Currently, all the sensors and equipment are packaged inside a mobile screening laboratory about the size of a trailer or large truck bed, and just last week, Homeland Security put it to a field test in Maryland, scanning 144 mostly unwitting human subjects.
While I'd love to give you the full scoop on the unusual experiment, testing is ongoing and full disclosure would compromise future tests.
• Click here for an exclusive look at MALINTENT in action.
But what I can tell you is that the test subjects were average Joes living in the D.C. area who thought they were attending something like a technology expo; in order for the experiment to work effectively and to get the testing subjects to buy in, the cover story had to be convincing.
While the 144 test subjects thought they were merely passing through an entrance way, they actually passed through a series of sensors that screened them for bad intentions.
Homeland Security also selected a group of 23 attendees to be civilian "accomplices" in their test. They were each given a "disruptive device" to carry through the portal — and, unlike the other attendees, were conscious that they were on a mission.
In order to conduct these tests on human subjects, DHS had to meet rigorous safety standards to ensure the screening would not cause any physical or emotional harm.
So here's how it works. When the sensors identify that something is off, they transmit warning data to analysts, who decide whether to flag passengers for further questioning. The next step involves micro-facial scanning, which involves measuring minute muscle movements in the face for clues to mood and intention.
Homeland Security has developed a system to recognize, define and measure seven primary emotions and emotional cues that are reflected in contractions of facial muscles. MALINTENT identifies these emotions and relays the information back to a security screener almost in real-time.
This whole security array — the scanners and screeners who make up the mobile lab — is called "Future Attribute Screening Technology" — or FAST — because it is designed to get passengers through security in two to four minutes, and often faster.
If you're rushed or stressed, you may send out signals of anxiety, but FAST isn't fooled. It's already good enough to tell the difference between a harried traveler and a terrorist. Even if you sweat heavily by nature, FAST won't mistake you for a baddie.
"If you focus on looking at the person, you don't have to worry about detecting the device itself," said Bob Burns, MALINTENT's project leader. And while there are devices out there that look at individual cues, a comprehensive screening device like this has never before been put together.
While FAST's batting average is classified, Undersecretary for Science and Technology Adm. Jay Cohen declared the experiment a "home run."
As cold and inhuman as the electric eye may be, DHS says scanners are unbiased and nonjudgmental. "It does not predict who you are and make a judgment, it only provides an assessment in situations," said Burns. "It analyzes you against baseline stats when you walk in the door, it measures reactions and variations when you approach and go through the portal."
But the testing — and the device itself — are not without their problems. This invasive scanner, which catalogues your vital signs for non-medical reasons, seems like an uninvited doctor's exam and raises many privacy issues.
But DHS says this is not Big Brother. Once you are through the FAST portal, your scrutiny is over and records aren't kept. "Your data is dumped," said Burns. "The information is not maintained — it doesn't track who you are."
DHS is now planning an even wider array of screening technology, including an eye scanner next year and pheromone-reading technology by 2010.
The team will also be adding equipment that reads body movements, called "illustrative and emblem cues." According to Burns, this is achievable because people "move in reaction to what they are thinking, more or less based on the context of the situation."
FAST may also incorporate biological, radiological and explosive detection, but for now the primary focus is on identifying and isolating potential human threats.
And because FAST is a mobile screening laboratory, it could be set up at entrances to stadiums, malls and in airports, making it ever more difficult for terrorists to live and work among us.
Burns noted his team's goal is to "restore a sense of freedom." Once MALINTENT is rolled out in airports, it could give us a future where we can once again wander onto planes with super-sized cosmetics and all the bottles of water we can carry — and most importantly without that sense of foreboding that has haunted Americans since Sept. 11.
Allison Barrie, a security and terrorism consultant with the Commission for National Security in the 21st Century, is FOX News' security columnist.
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To get new ideas, I use different resources depending on the topic I work on.
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I didn't have time to read a paper book, and I wasn't interested in it. I have trouble absorbing knowledge in audio format. To free up time for reading, I got research papers from https://www.bestdissertation.com/buying-research-paper.html . I enjoy reading because it expands our consciousness, and I encourage everyone to gain knowledge from paper books because they create a unique ambiance.
http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/2008intell/kruse.pdf
Operational Neuroscience- Monitoring Brainwaves from Satellites currently being Researched and Implemented by DARPA headed up by Dr. Amy Kruse on American Citizen designated Labrats. It's in their own report.
Phase 2 Technical Challenges
ƒ Capture brain signals in real time during realisticz
imagery analysis on baseline imagery
exploitation systems
ƒ Categorize target detection brain signals based
on object / scene complexity
ƒ Integrate neuromorphic computational image
analysis and physiological brain signals
Phase 2 Applied Science
Apply Phase 1 breakthrough science
in operational contexts
ƒ Extend capture of brain signals for
target detection to:
ƒ Multiple imagery types
ƒ Diverse target and scene
complexity
ƒ Integrate brain-assisted search into
standard imagery analysis software
ƒ Leverage/converge with automated
machine vision technologies
ƒ Demonstrate with trained analysts with
realistic tasks and environment
I have just presented the EVIDENCE FROM THE DOCUMENTATION FROM THE GOVERNMENT-- BECAUSE PEOPLE DON'T READ WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN-- IS THEIR PROBLEM-- IT'S A DONE DEAL!!!
The Neuro Revolution - Full HD ZACK LYNCH and and Entire Org. TRACKS IT
http://www.neurotechindustry.org/people.html There's an entire organization that tracks it. He's the President of it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBK8SkOjMTw Play IT... DON'T JUST LOOK AT THE FRIGGIN LINK --- PLAY IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11
"Brain activity can be monitored in real-time
in operational environments with EEG"
http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/2008intell/kruse.pdf Here's the report from the Gov't
Operational Neuroscience
Intelligence Community Forum
Dr. Amy Kruse
Program Manager
DARPA/DSO
Nov 5, 2008
Don't tell me it can't be done when they are publishing the docs online that it has already been done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The plan is to turn this shit on the total population for "total control". The only way to find these things out is to simply read the documentation that is already out there!!!
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1263677258215075609 Interview with Bilderberg Group member
Rockefeller Admitted Elite Goal Of Microchipped Population14:58 - 5 years ago
Hollywood director and documentary film maker Aaron Russo has gone in-depth on the astounding admissions of Nick Rockefeller, who personally told him that the elite's ultimate goal was to create a microchipped population and that the war on terror was a hoax, Rockefeller having predicted an "event" that would trigger the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan eleven months before 9/11. Rockefeller also told Russo that his family's foundation had created and bankrolled the women's liberation movement in order to destroy the family and that population reduction was a fundamental aim of the global elite.
Can A Satellite Read Your Thoughts? - Interim Investigation Summary
The signal looks similar to this if it were uniformly laid out in time. Pulses of varying lengths throughout a defined band.
Given the sudden change in direction this investigation has taken, I thought it best to summarize exactly where we are. Today we will examine what type of signal we are looking for, the equipment needed to produce the signal, the equipment needed to hunt for the signal and how to narrow down the possibilities.
Unlike previous articles we are going to get very specific on the requirements and provide people, with the appropriate equipment, a chance to not only locate the signal, but defend against it.
The hunt begins in earnest.
Phased Array
With the new understanding of plasma around the axon opening voltage-gated channels to trigger action potentials, we can now speculate on the type of hardware required to track, interface and control neural firing patterns.
It has become obvious that we are seeking a high frequency phased-array with electronic steering. This could imply both ground-based and satellite-based systems. For those unfamiliar with phased arrays you can learn more here:
http://www.radartutorial.eu/06.antennas/an14.en.html
To achieve the discrimination required to trigger individual neurons means that the plasma around axons respond mainly to particular frequencies. No doubt this relates to the plasma frequency, but I have yet to discover the exact mechanism. Although, my gut reaction is that the system exploits resonant frequencies and may even have a method of determining that frequency. My cursory examination of plasma antenna theory demonstrates that this information can be revealed remotely by a signal.
For amateur hams, or even engineers, attempting to locate this signal I would focus on channels that appear to be occupied by radars or complex data streams. Standard radio equipment will not be of much use here, the resolution is too low to discern the structure of the signal.
Also, given that we are looking for a steerable phased array, it means that the wavefront where the most energy is concentrated may be out of phase depending on your location. This means that the signal strength will be distributed in time, so some dynamic reconstruction may be required to analyze the signal if you are not located at the focal point. There is also the possibility that more than one array is being used at the same time on a single target. This may prevent hotspots from developing.
So, let's give you the technical specifications of a radio system that will provide the required resolution.
High Resolution Software Defined Radio
For those who have experience of software defined radio, you will be aware that most high-end systems can manage around 1.6Mhz bandwidth across the range 10KHz - 32MHz with around 80MSps on a 16 bit ADC. This is a fantastic specification on a general purpose receiver, but you would be unable to analyze the signal to any great detail.
The reason is the way FFT works. The greater resolution you have in the time domain, the less you have in the frequency domain. We can look at some of the equations here:
If we provide some practical examples based upon the specifications of the high-end radio given above we can see the limitations:
If a signal is modulated faster than 6.1 times per second, it would appear as a continuous line on the spectrum. Also, if two more signals are started within a 16.4ms time frame, they would appear to start at the same time. All signals that lie within 6.1Hz of each other would be seen as a single signal.
If we attempt to increase our frequency resolution, our time resolution becomes worse:
From this you think there is a direct relationship between the time taken and bandwidth of an FFT bin. We can demonstrate this is not the case by examining a lower sample rate.
To see the modulation in the type of signals we have been discussing, we need to strike a balance between frequency and time resolution. This can be very difficult.
Firstly, we need to define what exactly we are looking for. This will set the specifications of the receiver required to analyze the structure of the signal. As I mentioned above, we are looking for a steerable phased array. The signal itself will be a densely packed structure of high frequency radio waves modulated in the sub-3KHz band. This should cover most, if not all, of the potential operating frequencies that the plasma around the axon can be driven by.
Thus, we should see pulses with varying timings layered together in a narrow frequency band. In short, low frequency pulse width modulation (PWM) on a high frequency carrier. No doubt there are similarities to GSM and the application of Gaussian filters to initiate action potentials. For that reason I am not going to rule out a network of fake cell towers as a potential source. That said, given that their transmissions would not conform to GSM standards, or any known standard, they would stick out to a professional with the right gear.
Further, I do not expect the signals to be confined to a single band of contiguous frequencies. That said, I fully expect the signal to be located in bands allocated to the US and UK military. Given that this has most certainly been figured out by Russia and China, cross-referencing the overlaps in allocation of bands to the military may reduce the search further. Initially though, I would focus on the US allocations particularly between 35Mhz and 1Ghz.
From these requirements we can see that we need a time resolution of around 0.3ms but we are guessing at the bin size. In this case, we would also need a frequency resolution as fine as possible, microhertz or better.
That presents a problem. The only way to get a frequency resolution below 1Hz is for the sample input length to exceed the sample rate. We can see this in the last equation we performed. In doing so, we are guaranteed that our time resolution will be in the order of seconds, not the fraction of milliseconds that we require. Zero padding and overlaps are of no help here.
Thus it should be clear that FFT is the wrong tool for the job and, as such, commercial SDRs and spectrograms linked to radios are pointless for signal analysis. So, if you ever see a "SIGINT" system with an FFT, have a quiet giggle.
It should be obvious now why amateur hams have never reported such a system. They can't see it on SDR and on a standard radio it would sound like a complex digital mode transmission.
So, how do we detect it?
FFT provides what frequency components exist in a signal over a defined period. We require a transform that provides fine grained resolution of both time and frequency. We have options such as the short time Fourier transform, FWT, Wigner distributions, etc.
STFT has resolution issues, as does FWT. So, we can ignore these methods as they will not reveal the signal structure. Given the similarities with GSM, the best approach would be to modify the method used to sniff GSM packets in the air. I found a very good article on this by David A. Hall from National Instruments:
http://www.eetimes.com/design/microwave-rf-design/4018964/Sniffing-...
Unlike GSM I do not expect a defined carrier, at least not one that represents the axons of an entire person. It is quite possible that axons close in frequency terms will create a "carrier like" signal on a vector signal analyzer. This should, in theory, betray the location of the signals. It may be much harder to track down signals that are narrower than the resolution of the vector signal analyzer. At this point, it may be useful to examine the basics of vector signal analysis. I found another good resource from Agilent on this:
http://cp.literature.agilent.com/litweb/pdf/5989-1121EN.pdf
As we can see from this document, all the real work is performed in the digital domain. With that information, we now know that we can turn any decent SDR into a vector spectrum analyzer just by modifying the software. That said, it can be computationally quite heavy and parallel processing expands capability. Again, there is a resolution issue in narrowband signals such as 100 μHz but it is typically faster than other methods. So, brief signals spread out could potentially hide, however, for complex integration with the brain frequencies would need to be sustained revealing carriers.
The next stage is to pass this information to a Gabor Spectrogram to reveal a break down of the low frequency pulse modulation. How effective this will be in terms of frequency separation is unknown, but the time resolution should be adequate enough to determine pulse rates, assuming the frequencies do not overlap in the image causing longer or continuous lines. You may need to apply some bandpass filters to isolate the signal.
If you are having difficulties with this part, or you suspect multiple layers, then try the Time Domain IQ visualization as described by the National Instruments article. I don't know how revealing this will be, but it is one of the last steps towards eventual decoding of the signal. I use the term decoding, rather than demodulation, as the signal just triggers neurons and contains no embedded data. That said, it may contain elements similar to any phase-shift keying as the signal would need to track through neuron clusters to provide fine control. Thus, the signal would be a form of continuous-phased frequency shift keying.
As a side note, this brings up the role of Collins Radio Company (now Rockwell Collins) in early tests. Although, their involvement is not strictly necessary as the patent has been available since 1958. That said, they would have held the patent until 1975 and field tests were well underway by then.
Whilst people play with this idea and make recordings of suspect signals, I will look into better methods and appropriate software solutions that can be used.
Signal Content
It must be stressed at this point that what we will be receiving is neural patterns from Mr Computer. I don't expect that anyone will receive neural signals from people. These neural signals will be a mixture of conversations, verbal commands, images, sounds, ideas, conclusions, emotional stimuli and motor controls. Whilst we may not be able to decode them immediately, that will come in time as we learn the meaning of neural codes. One good indicator that you have stumbled upon the correct signals, is the patterns will be relatively similar in terms of structure and given the nature of a phased array will have different signal strength and reception timings. Depending on the footprint of the wavefront, we may find these signals spread across a band of frequencies, or the same frequencies reused but within a defined spacial constraint. That is, the same frequencies are used for everyone but the signal only develops the correct strength around the target.
Shielding
One good thing to come out of this is the fact that we know the signal can be blocked by a Faraday's Cage. At this stage, we don't know if a second signal reveals the neural patterns, or if it is direct detection of emissions. A phased array has a limited power output and a defined signal strength must be maintained at the target to induce neurons into firing. Whilst it may be feasible to increase the power to overcome the attenuation by a single Faraday cage, if a significant proportion on the system do this, it becomes unfeasible to maintain the power requirements. I will come back to this issue of shielding later and attempt to develop a low-cost solution that should suit most people's needs.
Scientists have been able to reach into the mind of a brain-damaged man and communicate with his thoughts.
The research, carried out in the UK and Belgium, involved a new brain scanning method.
Awareness was detected in three other patients previously diagnosed as being in a vegetative state.
The study in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that scans can detect signs of awareness in patients thought to be closed off from the world.
Patients in a vegetative state are awake, not in a coma, but have no awareness because of severe brain damage.
Scanning technique
The scientists used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) which shows brain activity in real time.
They asked patients and healthy volunteers to imagine playing tennis while they were being scanned.
In each of the volunteers this stimulated activity in the pre-motor cortex, part of the brain which deals with movement.
This also happened in four out of 23 of the patients presumed to be in a vegetative state.
I volunteered to test out the scanning technique.
I gave the scientists two women's names, one of which was my mother's.
I imagined playing tennis when they said the right name, and within a minute they had worked out her name.
They were also able to guess correctly whether I had children.
Questions
This is a continuation of research published three years ago, when the team used the same technique to establish initial contact with a patient diagnosed as vegetative.
But this time they went further.
With one patient - a Belgian man injured in a traffic accident seven years ago - they asked a series of questions.
He was able to communicate "yes" and "no" using just his thoughts.
The team told him to use "motor" imagery like a tennis match to indicate "yes" and "spatial" imagery like thinking about roaming the streets for a "no".
The patient responded accurately to five out of six autobiographical questions posed by the scientists.
For example, he confirmed that his father's name was Alexander.
The study involved scientists from the Medical Research Council (MRC), the Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre in Cambridge and a Belgian team at the University of Liege.
Dr Adrian Owen from the MRC in Cambridge co-authored the report:
"We were astonished when we saw the results of the patient's scan and that he was able to correctly answer the questions that were asked by simply changing his thoughts."
Dr Owen says this opens the way to involving such patients in their future treatment decisions: "You could ask if patients were in pain and if so prescribe painkillers and you could go on to ask them about their emotional state."
It does raise many ethical issues - for example - it is lawful to allow patients in a permanent vegetative state to die by withdrawing all treatment, but if a patient showed they could respond it would not be, even if they made it clear that was what they wanted.
The Royal Hospital for Neurodisability in London is a leading assessment and treatment centre for adults with brain injuries.
Helen Gill, a consultant in low awareness state, welcomed the new research but cautioned that it was still early days for the research: "It's very useful if you have a scan which can
Pentagon Preps Soldier Telepathy PushBy
Katie Drummond
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/05/pentagon-preps-soldier-tele...
Forget the battlefield radios, the combat PDAs or even infantry hand signals. When the soldiers of the future want to communicate, they’ll read each other’s minds.
At least, that’s the hope of researchers at the Pentagon’s mad-science division Darpa. The agency’s budget for the next fiscal year includes $4 million to start up a program called Silent Talk. The goal is to “allow user-to-user communication on the battlefield without the use of vocalized speech through analysis of neural signals.” That’s on top of the $4 million the Army handed out last year to the University of California to investigate the potential for computer-mediated telepathy.
Before being vocalized, speech exists as word-specific neural signals in the mind. Darpa wants to develop technology that would detect these signals of “pre-speech,” analyze them, and then transmit the statement to an intended interlocutor. Darpa plans to use EEG to read the brain waves. It’s a technique they’re also testing in a project to devise mind-reading binoculars that alert soldiers to threats faster the conscious mind can process them.
The project has three major goals, according to Darpa. First, try to map a person’s EEG patterns to his or her individual words. Then, see if those patterns are generalizable — if everyone has similar patterns. Last, “construct a fieldable pre-prototype that would decode the signal and transmit over a limited range.”
The military has been funding a handful of mind-tapping technology recently, and already have monkeys capable of telepathic limb control. Telepathy may also have advantages beyond covert battlefield chatter. Last year, the National Research Council and the Defense Intelligence Agency released a report suggesting that neuroscience might also be useful to “make the enemy obey our commands.” The first step, though, may be getting a grunt to obey his officer’s remotely-transmitted thoughts.
– Katie Drummond and Noah Shachtman
[Photo: ONR]
ALSO:
CareFusion Launches Wireless Diagnostic and Monitoring Neurological Device
By Bio-Medicine.Org
Friday, December 2, 2011
SAN DIEGO, Dec. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- CareFusion today launched the Nicolet™ EEG (Electroencephalography) Wireless Amplifier, a device that effectively captures high-resolution brain wave data used for the diagnosis and treatment of neurological diseases and conditions.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100706/CAREFUSIONLOGO)
The Nicolet EEG Wireless Amplifier consolidates many clinical and research features into a single, portable unit for pediatrics and adults to aid clinicians in their diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy, brain trauma, stroke, brain tumors, sleep dysfunction and clinical research. Real-time data from the amplifier can be transferred wirelessly or in tethered mode and stored in the product's on-board memory allowing for continuous recording when patients are out of range of a monitoring computer. This device is ideally suited for hospitals, clinics, emergency vehicles and in-home ambulatory settings.
With the addition of the EEG Wireless Amplifier, along with a series of traditional Nicolet EEG and Electromyography (EMG) systems, CareFusion now offers customers a comprehensive neurodiagnostic monitoring product line that provides high quality, rich data to clinicians to help them more effectively deliver patient care.
"Wireless acquisition of EEG data gives patients admitted to the epilepsy monitoring unit greater freedom and comfort without risking loss of critical data due to disconnection of the amplifier," said Chad Carlson, M.D., assistant professor of neurology at the New York '/University Langone Medical Center Comprehensive Epilepsy Center. "The ability to record up to 64 channels of EEG data at up to 12 kHz should allow for further advances in clinical EEG analysis and interpretation."
Mary de Sousa, vice president and general manager of NeuroCare at CareFusion, said: "With the introduction of the new wireless amplifier, hospitals and clinics have a new standard of care available to them for diagnosing, monitoring and helping them treat patients with neurological disorders."
The Nicolet EEG Wireless Amplifier is available worldwide. CareFusion will demonstrate the wireless amplifier, along with other Nicolet product lines, at the 2011 American Epilepsy Society meeting held Dec. 3 – 7 in Baltimore. Visit Nicolet-CareFusion at booth #213.
About CareFusion
CareFusion (NYSE: CFN) is a global corporation serving the health care industry with products and services that help hospitals measurably improve the safety and quality of care. The company develops market-leading technologies including Alaris® infusion pumps, Pyxis® automated dispensing and patient identification systems, AVEA®, AirLife™ and LTV® series ventilation and respiratory products, ChloraPrep® skin prep products, MedMined™ services for data mining surveillance, Nicolet™ neurological monitoring and diagnostic products, V. Mueller® surgical instruments, and an extensive line of products that support interventional medicine. CareFusion employs more than 14,000 people across its global operations. More information may be found at www.carefusion.com and www.carefusion.com/eegwireless.
My Take: Keep government out of mind-reading business
Editor's Note: Paul Root Wolpe, Ph.D., is director of Emory University’s Center for Ethics.
By Paul Root Wolpe, Special to CNN
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/12/my-take-keep-government-ou...
(CNN) – “My thoughts, they roam freely. Who can ever guess them?”
So goes an old German folk song. But imagine living in a world where someone can guess your thoughts, or even know them for certain. A world where science can reach into the deep recesses of your brain and pull out information that you thought was private and inaccessible.
Would that worry you?
If so, then start worrying. The age of mind reading is upon us.
Neuroscience is advancing so rapidly that, under certain conditions, scientists can use sophisticated brain imaging technology to scan your brain and determine whether you can read a particular language, what word you are thinking of, even what you are dreaming about while you are asleep.
The research is still new, and the kinds of information scientists can find through brain imaging are still simple. But the recent pace of progress in neuroscience has been startling and new studies are being published all the time.
In one experiment, researchers at Carnegie Mellon looked at images of people’s brains when they were thinking of some common objects – animals, body parts, tools, vegetables – and recorded which areas of their brains activated when they thought about each object.
The scientists studied patterns of brain activity while subjects thought about 58 such objects. Then they predicted what the person’s brain would look like if researchers gave them a brand new object, like “celery.”
The scientists’ predictions were surprisingly accurate.
Many scholars predicted as recently as a few years ago that we would never get this far. Now we have to ask: If we can tell what words you are thinking of, is it much longer before we will be able to read complex thoughts?
In another experiment, researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich, Germany, sought out a group of “lucid dreamers” - people who remain aware that they are dreaming and even maintain some control over their dreams while they sleep.
The researchers asked the subjects to clench either their right hand or left hand in their dreams, then scanned their brain while they slept. The subjects’ motor cortex, the part of the brain that controls movement, lit up in the same manner it would if a person clenched their left hand while awake – even though the actual hand of the sleeping subjects never moved.
The images revealed that the subjects were dreaming of clenching their left fists.
Throughout human history, the inner workings of our minds were impenetrable, known only to us and, perhaps, to God. No one could see what you were thinking, or know what you were feeling, unless you chose to reveal it to them.
In fact, the idea of being able to decipher what is going on in that three pounds of grey mush between our ears seemed an impossible task even a couple of decades ago.
Now, for the first time in human history, we are peering into the labyrinth of the mind and pulling out information, perhaps even information you would rather we did not know.
Neuroscientists are actively developing technologies to create more effective lie detectors, to determine if people have been at a crime scene, or to predict who may be more likely to engage in violent crime.
As the accuracy and reliability of these experiments continue to improve, the temptation will be strong to use these techniques in counter-terrorism, in the courtroom, perhaps even at airports.
And if brain imaging for lie detection is shown to be reliable, intelligence agencies may want to use it to discover moles, employers may want to use it to screen employees, schools to uncover vandals or cheaters.
But should we allow it?
I believe not. The ability to read our thoughts threatens the last absolute bastion of privacy that we have. If my right to privacy means anything, it must mean the right to keep my innermost thoughts safe from the prying eyes of the state, the military or my employer.
My mind must remain mine alone, and my skull an inviolable zone of privacy.
Right now, our right to privacy – even the privacy of our bodies – ends when a judge issues a warrant. The court can order your house searched, your computer files exposed, and your diary read. It can also order you to submit to a blood test, take a drug screen, or to provide a DNA sample.
There is no reason, right now, that it could not also order a brain scan.
Right now, the technology is not reliable enough for the courts to order such tests. But the time is coming, and soon.
Eventually, courts will have to decide whether it is allowable to order a defendant to get a brain scan. There is even an interesting question of whether forcing me to reveal my inner thoughts through a brain scan might violate my Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination.
But not even a court order should be enough to violate your right to a private inner life. The musings of my mind and heart are the most precious and private possessions that I have, the one thing no one can take away from me.
Let them search my house, if they must, or take some blood, if that will help solve a case. But allowing the state to probe our minds ends even the illusion of individual liberty, and gives government power that is far too easy to abuse.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Paul Root Wolpe.
Filed under: Culture & Science • Ethics
Mind-reading car could drive you round the bend
Nissan collaborates with Swiss scientists to develop interface between man and machine, saying it will help road safety
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/sep/28/nissan-car-reads-d...
One of the world's largest motor manufacturers is working with scientists based in Switzerland to design a car that can read its driver's mind and predict his or her next move.
The collaboration, between Nissan and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), is intended to balance the necessities of road safety with demands for personal transport.
Scientists at the EPFL have already developed brain-machine interface (BMI) systems that allow wheelchair users to manoeuvre their chairs by thought transference. Their next step will be finding a way to incorporate that technology into the way motorists interact with their cars.
If the endeavour proves successful, the vehicles of the future may be able to prepare themselves for a left or right turn – choosing the correct speed and positioning – by gauging that their drivers are thinking about making such a turn.
However, although BMI technology is well established, the levels of human concentration needed to make it work are extremely high, so the research team is working on systems that will use statistical analysis to predict a driver's next move and to "evaluate a driver's cognitive state relevant to the driving environment".
By measuring brain activity, monitoring patterns of eye movement and scanning the environment around the car, the team thinks the car will be able to predict what a driver is planning to do and help him or her complete the manoeuvre safely.
Lucian Gheorghe, who joined Nissan's mobility research centre after graduating in computer science and artificial intelligence from Kobe University, Japan, said he believed the joint project could benefit both scientists and motorists.
"Brain wave analysis has helped me understand driver burden in order to reduce driver stress," he said. "During our collaboration with EPFL, I believe we will not only be able to contribute to the scientific community but we will also find engineering solutions that will bring us close to providing easy access to personal mobility for everyone."
Professor José del R Millán, who is leading the project, said the idea behind the research was a simple one: "to blend driver and vehicle intelligence together in such a way that eliminates conflicts between them, leading to a safer motoring environment".
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