Neural lace: The breakthrough in technology

Excelsior
7 min readJan 1, 2022
image source: Excelsior

Introduction

One of the most fascinating things about science fiction is how often it becomes science fact. It’s rare that we see a sci-fi book or film come out without something resembling an iPad.

Neural lace is an exciting technology that has been in development over the past decade, aiming to make a fully functional brain-computer interface (BCI). Not only will this be great for improving the lives of the severely disabled, but it could lead to a huge leap forward in human development.

The future is here. At least, it seems that way according to Elon Musk. The South Africa-based entrepreneur recently announced the launch of a neural lace prototype that he predicts will be one of the most important innovations of our lifetimes.

What is neural lace?

As we speak, an incredible technology is being developed; a breakthrough in human evolution. This is the so-called neural lace, which is a device designed to improve, repair and even enhance the brain.

Neural lace refers to the small electronic components which are placed on the brain and in contact with it. These components contain very small interconnected wires which have the ability to connect with our thoughts. Neural lace can be used to improve memory or even allow us to digitally duplicate memories by sending them to a remote computer.

In 2017, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX brought to our attention the possibilities of a technology which was unheard of a few years back. Neural lace, a long-time dream of scientists, is not just something seemingly out of Hollywood movies.

it is already in existence.

How Neural lace is improving voice recognition?

A breakthrough in brain-computer interface technology is making headlines these days. The future as we know it is changing and taking a new shape. This development has been made possible by combining two technologies, graphene and neural lace, in order to make the former perform better. In this blog, we will look at how neural lace is improving your voice recognition experience.

We’ve all had times when we wished we could control our computer and smartphones with our voice. We want to be able to tell the gadget what we want it to do, and not have to worry about involving our fingers. Microsoft has been hard at work creating an AI program that can do just that; neural lace. Neural lace is a system that is meant to improve the capabilities of artificial intelligence. The idea is that neural lace would provide better access to massive amounts of computing power.

Neural lace is a new non-invasive technology that records and transmits electrical signals from the brain. The neural lace will display whatever the person sees or hears by converting images and sounds into electronic pulses which are transmitted through the optical nerve to a computer.

How does it work?

The simple answer is that it allows us to plug in an external device that can interact directly with neurons. In a more detailed answer, functional electrical stimulation (FES) uses the brain’s motor cortex where activity can be detected by applying an EEG electrode. This signal is then used to trigger individual muscle contractions via a system of electrodes connected to the muscles.

The future may seem like a sci-fi to us, but we are gradually making progress in that direction. This year marked another giant step toward it. We now have a method of “neural lace” technology for placing sensors into the brain and skull.

Where is this technology heading?

For decades, computers have been speech recognition machines. However, they never lived up to all their potential. The biggest reason is that technology has been unable to understand the way that humans naturally communicate. Now, a new technology on the market is making voice controlled gadgets sound more human, which experts are saying will make life-altering breakthroughs in many fields.

What is the success rate of AI assistants without neural lace?

According to the latest estimates, more than half of the world population is familiar with the use of AI assistants. Siri and Google Assistant are probably the best-known examples of these market representatives. In addition, more than 80% of people regularly use voice assistants for their various needs. AI assistants have become so widespread that a person can hardly imagine life without them.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) assistants have become an integral part of people’s lives. Did you know that 75% of people interested in buying smart speakers intend to purchase a Google Home or an Amazon Echo, according to a survey by Strategy Analytics? Anyway, AI assistants can recognize your voice and serve you with information you need. However, what happens when this assistant can’t answer your question? In such a case, it may either postpone its response or transfer the question to another department.

Comparison between Google Assistant vs Siri vs Alexa vs Cortana

What’s better: Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri or Cortana? Although these digital assistants have been receiving new features, they still have many things to learn before they can even reach their full potential.

Neural lace in Google Assistant

You’ve probably heard the buzz about ‘neural lace’ tech, but Google is already way ahead of the game.

How is Google assistant used in your everyday life? The neural lace is a fictional invention of science-fiction, but if it becomes true one day then we have to start fighting about not using it. This is because some experts believe that the neural lace will hold more significance than smartphones, laptops and tablets put together. If a device became part of our bodies in the future, this gadget could make the improvements to our lives even larger than the Internet has done till now.

It is no longer news that Google Assistant has been endowed with new attributes and features. One of the most notable ones is the ability to take notes, convert speech to text and translate languages — all at once! But this is not all. Google Inc., has unveiled a bold innovation in their artificial intelligence technology, neural networks, by attempting to integrate an ultra-thin mesh into our brains which will be capable of interfacing directly with our neurons! This mesh will be loaded with graphene processing chips as well as nanotubes. Furthermore, it will have an enormous capacity which will allow us to record and process almost limitless amounts of data. It will also be able to interact directly between your neocortex and your smartphone without hindrance or the need for an intermediary device.

Neural lace in Apple’s Siri

At its Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple announced it’s latest upgrade to Siri. Now, users can talk directly to the AI-powered digital assistant, just as one would to another person.

This technology is so advanced and powerful that it can be used to create the new version of Apple’s famous robot “Siri”, which will automatically learn from its users, who will not be frustrated by having to teach it anything.

Ever since the iPhone was first released in 2007, Siri has been getting a lot of attention. The voice activated personal assistant is supposed to make our lives easier by doing things like making phone calls, scheduling appointments, and searching the internet.

Neural lace in Microsoft Cortana

Neural lace is the term that Microsoft has used to refer to the technology underpinning Cortana. It’s not just an app; it’s the stuff that makes its futuristic capabilities possible.

Cortana is the best of all assistants currently available as it can refer to a lot of information. Microsoft, the owner of this virtual assistant, has recently caught the attention of everyone by its latest experiment in neural lace technology.

Cortana, an intelligent personal assistant that is as amazing as it is advanced, not only learns but also adapts to other people’s speech patterns and tastes in music.

The Microsoft teams working on its “cognitive personal assistant” were keenly aware of the looming challenge. The software, nicknamed Cortana after the company’s popular Halo video game franchise, was designed to plug into a Windows 10 service that would filter and deliver information to users even when they weren’t interacting with their computers.

Neural lace in Amazon’s Alexa

Ever since the initial release of the Amazon Echo and its voice-enabled intelligent assistant Alexa, personal assistants have become a basic need for everyone. With 16.4 million Echo devices currently in use, the AI personal assistant is capable of so much more than just answering basic questions . For instance, users can listen to their own music, play games with it, open apps on their phones from their wrist, and even complete tasks like ordering food online or booking a flight without any trouble at all.

Amazon’s Alexa is a virtual assistant that is designed to improve users’ real-world experiences. Back in December, Amazon released version 2 of this intelligent assistant for the iPhone, which enables some pretty useful features. Some examples include pre-ordering products before they are out of stock and consulting with the Alexa app just by using your voice. However, one of the most exciting features was the ability to speak to more than 10,000 “skills’’ offered by third-party developers. Now, you can get everything from movie showtimes to audibly search Wikipedia through Amazon’s Alexa.

Conclusion

Neural lace is the most exciting technology in human enhancement since the invention of fire! Though it is still not very advanced, its future value is virtually limitless. It will someday be able to connect our minds seamlessly with digital devices and enhance our intelligence. It may even make us immune to diseases.

Perhaps the most interesting point here is that we may soon be able to connect our minds with machines, and that this connection could last for a lifetime. And yes, even with the multitude of pros that would come along with such a technology, there will be cons as well.

As with every new piece of technology, we cannot know exactly how it will end up fitting into our lives. But at the same time, we also cannot afford to simply ignore this revolutionary piece of technology. We need to embrace it head-on in order to realize its full potential. And the decisions we make now will ultimately determine where neural lace technology takes us in the future.

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