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Computer software that knows what you are thinking

uruk

Philosopher
uruk
Joined
Apr 9, 2003
Messages
5,311
Well not quite yet. http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2008/January/jan3_justmitchell.shtml

I find this very interesting on several levels.
I can foresee a web browser that thows up search results based on what you are thinking.

Thought/neural controlled interfaces for computers or devices.

And eventualy extracting from your brain thoughts.

Maybe even direct neural telecommunication a la "Ghost in the shell."

It also implies some interesting things about the mind. I think I'll post this in the religeon and philosophy forum. Just to stir things up.
 
This kind of technology terrifies the hell out of me in that it could be used by law-enforcement types one day to grossly violate one's privacy. Especially if it was compulsory, or if one day they can read this data from a distance. Especially considering how much regard our government (I live in the USA) has for privacy (Warrantless wiretapping anyone?), and how easily people can be persuaded into giving up personal freedom for safety (Look how much people have let the government get away with after 9/11 -- things that would have *NEVER* been tolerated prior to that)

I mean if you can't even have the freedom to keep your own thoughts to yourself, what freedom do you have?


INRM
 
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INRM - those are certainly legitimate concerns.

However, it's interesting that the same argument was made with the invention of the telephone and the web browser, among others. And yet I'm sure you use both on a daily basis.

Privacy safeguards can and will be built into any technology, as long as there are organizations who fight for it.
 
uruk said:
It also implies some interesting things about the mind. I think I'll post this in the religeon and philosophy forum. Just to stir things up.
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You mean like how we may not all be as individually unique as we thought? You mean an algorithm that works for that lunatic down the block might also work for me? Thats the scary part for me. As we get better and better at mapping brain function we find we're all very similar in how concepts trigger brain activity (or vice versa?). So, how is it I'm a unique snowflake again?

Still, I wouldn't mind a computer that could anticipate my thoughts. But, I wonder if there is even that much porn in the world?
 
Eh just don't subject yourself to it then. Besides how often are you going to be secretly inserted into a frickin' MRI machine without your prior knowledge?

Of COURSE this shouldn't become mandatory. That's, well, that's just like any other bit of technology that goes into privacy. For my part, I'm more interested in it's "cool factor" than the potential for gross misuse. I'm not even kidding, take that as you will.
 
Could you find a link to the actual paper PDF? I hate reading press releases. :(
 
Don't worry. We will charge ahead and do this as soon as technology enables it. Our pattern is that we will NOT step back a bit and decide whether we should, whether we've anticipated all the hazards, the unknowns. As soon as we figure out how to pull this off, whereby vast amounts of money also can be made? We're there.

Read the book 1984, special attention to the Thought Police.

See the movie Forbidden Planet for a great lesson on NOT anticipating all the consequences of harnessing a giant, new technology.
 
Given the technology to extract the thoughts from someone's brain, wouldn't the problem then lie in sorting it all out? I'm thinking that the physical process by which our brains sort raw data into lines of reasoning would be unique to each person, a bit like fingerprints. Are brains unique to individuals in this way?

I suppose my main reason for thinking this way is simply that we're all so different, despite having pretty much the same data to work with.

A secondary reason is imagining someone extracting the thoughts from my brain and trying to make something out of it. That would be more than I can do.
 
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INRM said:
This kind of technology terrifies the hell out of me in that it could be used by law-enforcement types one day to grossly violate one's privacy. Especially if it was compulsory, or if one day they can read this data from a distance. Especially considering how much regard our government (I live in the USA) has for privacy (Warrantless wiretapping anyone?), and how easily people can be persuaded into giving up personal freedom for safety (Look how much people have let the government get away with after 9/11 -- things that would have *NEVER* been tolerated prior to that)

I mean if you can't even have the freedom to keep your own thoughts to yourself, what freedom do you have?


INRM
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I think we have quite awhile before the technology comes to that. And I think there will be legislation to regulate the use of that kind of technology by then. Althought I can see this technology used to get information from a enemy combantant without resorting to torture...in the traditional sense.
 
madurobob said:
You mean like how we may not all be as individually unique as we thought? You mean an algorithm that works for that lunatic down the block might also work for me? Thats the scary part for me. As we get better and better at mapping brain function we find we're all very similar in how concepts trigger brain activity (or vice versa?). So, how is it I'm a unique snowflake again?
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Well there are concepts like archetypes which already suggest that.

I don't know if everyone's patterns are exactly the same. Possibly some translation or individual mapping may be needed for the software to work properly. Something similar to training speech recognition or OCR software.
I wish there was a paper published on the research. I haven't been able to locate it yet.

Still, I wouldn't mind a computer that could anticipate my thoughts. But, I wonder if there is even that much porn in the world?
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There is never too much porn.
The day you are tired of porn is the day you are tired of life.
 
saizai said:
Could you find a link to the actual paper PDF? I hate reading press releases. :(
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I don't know if one is published yet. I am looking for it also.
I'll post the link if I ever find it.
 
I would hardly liken this to telephone technology. This would be far more invasive of privacy.

With a telephone they can track where you are, what you said and such. Even technology that can determine if a person's lying isn't effective if the person isn't talking, and voice recognition software the same. But what you're thinking is still locked away in your head. This would get around that.

This would be supremely invasive. It would be as invasive as you can be! Your thoughts wouldn't even be secret.
 
INRM said:
This would be supremely invasive. It would be as invasive as you can be! Your thoughts wouldn't even be secret.
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Then don't use the technology. I don't see the point of halting the progress of technology over privacy issues. Raise the issue, find a solution to address them, and create public awareness of the solution.
 
sthompson,

Don't use it is not an acceptable solution. I don't plan to. But what if the government does?

Contrary to what you think that *all* technology should be allowed to progress whatever the cost, I think there is some technology that is so dangerous that it should not be allowed to progress. Not that I'm anti-science, but there is good science and bad science. This I believe would be bad science. It has such potential for abuse, especially for an administration like ours that has no regard for personal freedoms (Warrantless wiretapping anyone?)

This is not like a privacy issue in the government will know what you're watching on your computer or TV, or what sites you've been on, or who've you talked to, and what you've talked about. But your very thoughts. The violation of privacy would be so much more extreme than any of the above issues that it would, by definition, be a violation of international law (Freedom of thought is one of the freedoms listed in international law) -- not to mention if you can't even keep your own thoughts secret, then what freedom do you have?

Creating public awareness of the situation is of course a wise idea, I would agree. But there is no way to address the problem short of altering the entire wiring of the human brain, which is impractical. The only solution is to prevent this technology from being used on the grounds that it is too dangerous.

INRM
 
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But there is already massively powerful advanced technology that, if used by an evil government, could destroy us all. How would this be any more capable of controlling and abusing people than post world war technology that is hopelessly out of the reach of the citizenry?

On the other hand this is one more technology that would make it harder to revolt against a despotic government. As long as there's no way to consolidate it's power in a small group of people I'd support it. We already have nukes in the hands of a small group of people don't we? So start from square one if you don't like this sort of deal.
 
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