The Future of Neurotechnology
I saw a video on YouTube a little while ago where a man plays AimLab, a popular FPS training game using the Neuralink. It's unbelieveable how well he performed, infintely better than any human with the finiest motor skills could perform, it's quite insane actually. It would take years of practice for a professional player to get even 50% as accurate as him. Sadly, the video is fake, but it shows just how powerful neurotechnology could be in the future.
The Wall Street Journal however recently posted a video about Neuralink's first actual patient using the real device to play chess, completely hands-free using the sole brain implant. He uses the cursor using his mind and no additional devices to move the pieces and play the game. I was amazed when I saw this, especially since most articles (to my knowledge) believe this technology is impossible due to the complex nature of the brain. I do believe this technology, if we could get it to work, could change the world. Imagine if we could successfully create a device that allows any human being to use their computers with no mouse or keyboard, but simply with their mind. I believe this is essentially Neuralink's goal and I really hope this problem is solveable.
I think humans are very inefficient and innacurate when it comes to technology. When it comes to keyboards and mice, we are slow and a lot of time is wasted with simple mechnical movements. The same goes for other mobile devices like our phones and tablets. If we could use our minds to command our devices using our mind, this transition time of typing characters, moving mice, clicking buttons, it can all be eliminated and work can be done so much faster. As a programmer, we could simply think of where we want our cursor to go instead of moving our mice, or using VIM key inputs, and find the exact location in our code we want to modify instantly. We could copy and paste content from ChatGPT and paste it into our project, make adjustments, and test our code all within milliseconds.
I wonder though, if we do get this technology to work, will we have to simply think of where our mouse should go, or would we have to think of the actual mechanical movement I would've done if I were using a typical mouse? Like for example, if I wanted to type some code, would I have to simply think of the code I intend to write, or would I have to think of the individual characters sequentially and think of inputting each character? If I were developing this device, I would initially map every standard keyboard and mouse input and it's unique pattern of neuron activations to a mental thought, and eventually group certain inputs together and assign it specific commands. For example, let's say I wanted my hypothetical Neuralink to copy a certain block of text. Version 1.0 of this device will only recognize the thoughts "MOVE CURSOR TO POSITION (X, Y)", "HOLD LEFT-CLICK", "DRAG TO POSITION (X, Y)", "RELEASE LEFT-CLICK", "CMD-C" and this sequence of mental thoughts will copy my desired text. Now version 2.0 would allow the user to simply think of the segment of text they want to be copied and the previous sequence of commands will get the job done instantly.
I'm optimistic Neuralink is successful in their research and clinical trials. There are a lot of competitors out there but the applications of this technology are unmeasurable. Obviously there are quite a few risks as well (that's an understatement...), but that's a discussion for later. Instead, think of how much easier life could be if we could just think of whatever is on our mind, and have our computers do the work for us with no inteference. This is only the beginning. Maybe one day we'll have every application on our phones built into the Neuralink. I could have answers to questions the moment they are conceived in my mind. Maybe oneday machines are built for every single manual task so all jobs can be done remotely. We would just have to connect a cable to the back of our head, enter the Neuralink simulation, and start instructing the robot that is actually at the jobsite what to do.
I guess only time will tell now. I don't think I'll be alive to see the last scenario I pictured come to reality, but the previous examples do seem quite viable. To me, the brain, as randomly as it seems to function, is just a very complex computer and all computers are deterministic in nature, which leads me to believe that we'll be able to unravel how the brain truly works and make the Neuralink a reality. Let us see...