by From translating thoughts into words to allowing paralyzed people to walk, the field of neurotechnology is quietly advancing, raising hopes for medical breakthroughs—and deep ethical concerns.
Some observers even believe that neurotechnology could end up being as revolutionary as the much-heralded rise of artificial intelligence (AI).
“People don’t realize how much we already live in science fiction,” Anne Vanhoestenberghe, a researcher at King’s College London, told AFP.
The scientist heads a laboratory that develops electronic devices that are implanted into a person’s nervous system – not only the brain, but also the spinal cord, which transmits signals to the rest of the body.
It’s been a big few years for neurotechnology research. In June, California scientists revealed that a brain implant they developed could translate the thoughts of a man with the neurodegenerative disease ALS into words almost instantly, in just a fortieth of a second.
Swiss researchers have now enabled several paralyzed people to regain most of their control over their bodies – including walking – by implanting electrodes into their spinal cords.
These and other groundbreaking experiments in this field are still a long way from restoring full performance to patients who have lost the ability to speak or walk.
It also remains to be seen how this technology, some of which requires invasive brain surgery, could be made available to people in need around the world.
Still, “the general public is not aware of what is already out there and changing lives,” Vanhoestenberghe said.
And these devices are becoming more effective at a remarkable pace, she emphasized.
“It used to take thousands of hours of training before someone could form multiple words with their thoughts,” she said. “Now all it takes is a few.”
– Musk wants a “symbiosis” between humans and AI –
Neurotechnology has been driven by a combination of scientific advances – including a growing understanding of the human brain – and technological advances that have made devices so small that they can fit inside our skulls.
Algorithms using artificial intelligence have sped things up significantly and helped interpret and transform the data coming from the brain.
Numerous startups that have emerged since the late 2000s have raised tens of billions of dollars for research that has only recently begun to be translated into concrete successes.
The best-known company is billionaire Elon Musk’s Neuralink, which says it has now implanted its chip in twelve people.
While Musk made typically lofty claims, experts remained cautious about his company’s successes.
“Neuralink is currently just smoke and mirrors with a lot of hype,” Herve Chneiweiss, a neurologist and ethics expert at the French research organization INSERM, told AFP.
But “the day they manage to produce commercial products – and that won’t be long – it will be too late to worry about it,” he warned.
Many experts are concerned about the ethical implications of neurotechnology – particularly as some companies look far beyond healthcare applications and instead hope to use computers to improve our cognitive abilities.
Musk, for example, has repeatedly said that he ultimately wants Neuralink to enable humans to achieve “symbiosis” with AI.
– “Innermost thoughts in danger” –
With this in mind, the United Nations scientific and cultural agency UNESCO recently adopted recommendations on how nations can regulate neurotechnology.
These recommendations – which are not legally binding – are due to come into force on Wednesday.
The authors, including Chneiweiss, adopted a broad definition of neurotechnology. These include already widely used devices such as smartwatches and headsets that do not interact directly with the brain, but measure indicators that provide information about the user’s mental state.
“Today the main risk is invasion of privacy: our innermost thoughts are threatened,” said Chneiweiss.
For example, he warned that neurotech data could “fall into the hands of your boss,” who could then decide that you aren’t spending enough time thinking about work.
Some have already begun to address such concerns.
Late last year, the US state of California, a global center of neurotechnology research, passed a law to protect consumers’ brain data.
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