The Future of Brain-to-Brain Communication Is Near
How near in the future do you think the technology is for brain-to-brain communication? Would you be surprised if I told you that it is already technically possible?
During my presentation at the Near Future Summit in March, I described how our team, along with Harvard and other partners, and led by Giulio Ruffini, was able to realize the first human brain-to-brain interface — which demonstrated the direct, conscious transmission of information between human brains without intervention of sensory systems.
A subject in India (called the emitter) wore one of our brain EEG monitoring systems (Starstim-EEG) while a computer decoded his brain signals. He was instructed to think “move your feet” to generate a specific brain signal that we coded as 0 and then think “move your hands,” which we coded as 1.
The receiver was in France with a robotized, neuronavigated non-invasive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) device that would stimulate the visual cortex (occipital cortex in the back of the head) to induce the conscious perception of phosphenes (light flashes) depending on whether the signal received was a 1 (generate flash) or 0 (do not). Using the Bacon code riding on the binary data stream, the individual in India was thus able to receive the words HOLA and CIAO to the person in France.
Our results provide a critical proof-of-principle demonstration that direct, conscious brain-to-brain communication is possible today, despite obvious limitations on bandwidth and ease of use (hey, this was first step!). Other groups have followed this path and are now working in this budding field.
I do not have any doubt that humans will be able to communicate brain-to-brain in practical terms in a not-so-distant future — heralding a new era of human communication in which maybe emotions, colors, music or abstract concepts are communicated. We may even be able to think and communicate collectively and open the door to non-verbal other communication with other species (see Nexus for a modern science fiction rendition of the hive mind vision by Ramez Naam).
This technological revolution will have tremendous implications on social structure of our civilization and raises many unanswered ethical issues. But this is always the way of the future. Technology empowers us and it is up to us how to use that responsibly.
While brain-to-brain communication is an early stage, at Neuroelectrics, we are focusing on using similar technology to help many patients in need. Our brain monitoring and brain stimulation devices are being used in applications like epilepsy (diagnosing a seizure and prevent it from happening by injecting low voltage currents into the brain) in a clinical trial at Boston Children Hospital or in preventing cognitive decline (by combining EEG, stimulation and video games such as the ones developed by Akili, Adam´s Gazzaley company, also speaking at NearFuture) to be taken home. In the near future, doctors may be also prescribe video games and electrical medical devices to be taken home. The new home healthcare revolution is starting.
If you want to learn more and see our revolutionary work in action, come visit us next week in San Francisco at the Xtech conference.
After years as an entrepreneur and after attending numerous conferences, I have to admit that the conference that visionary Zem Joaquin and her team (thanks also to Obvious for the support) were able to put together in La Jolla in March was without hesitation the best one in my experience. 250 of the best forward-thinking minds in the world met to share their view of the future — and most importantly — what they are doing to make it happen.
To read more work from the Near Future Summit, check out the publication on Medium.
