Thinking aloud ... for real
This is one of the most amazing things you will see this year. New technology that allows a computer to translate the neurological activity into speech. In a sense, it means a computer is able to read my mind and translate that into spoken language. Stephen Hawking would no longer need to type his words; he could simply think aloud (literally). The scientists developing this technology are also working on a new device that would allow people to interact with the internet mentally, without the need for a keyboard. Imagine you're walking down the street and need directions. Just think the question into the device and wait for the internet to speak the directions aloud for you. The implications of this new technology are astonishing. Imagine the military intelligence implications alone. If this technology is successfully developed, it will change our world in the most fundamental ways. Watch this demonstration -- it will blow you away.
Comments
It seems to me that this is almost certainly a hoax. I base this on many things. First and most obvious is the fact that the think/talker was only wearing what appeared to be a black collar to supposedly measure the electrical activity of the efferent nerves going to his vocal cords (certainly not his brain electrical activity but even this would have been a feat), however, speech is far more complex involving neuromuscular activity of the lips and probably muscles in the soft palate for many sounds such as the explosive parts of speech including those in what was said. Secondly the speech was far too clear and there were no mistakes or areas where the technology was less than perfect, very unlikely. What's more, the speech was not synthesized as one would expect from a machine which recognized electrical patterns and then after correlating them to known words converted them into speech retrieving them from a data bank, it was the think/talker's own voice with its unique tonal characteristics of his oral cavity. Third there was no demonstration of the equipment used or how it worked, for all we know this was done with a tape recorder in a manner similar to a magician and a shill doing mind reading tricks for an astonished audience. Also, had such a breakthrough happened and been made public, it would have been widely publicized in many scientific journals and in the general press. Even Ö÷²¥´óÐã would have carried it.
Of course we can daydream about telekenesis and other mind over matter fantasies. One such fantasy was the movie "Forbidden Planet" where Walter Pidgeon and his daughter Anne Francis, the only survivors of a colony sent to the planet Altair 4 are met by rescuers sent by the space patrol. Ann Francis escapes with the crew, Walter Pigeon doesn't. He must die as punishment for the crimes he committed subconsciously when he learned the secret of the Krell, the ancient race that discovered the secret of how to use their minds to create any form of energy or matter they wanted in limitless amounts and harness the power of an 8000 cubic mile energy source comprised of 9200 thermonuclear reactors to do it. But what they didn't reckon on was "monsters from the Id."
A great sci-fi movie of its era.
I am also very skeptical. Apart from the lack of reporting about it that Mark mentioned, the YouTube clip says the video comes courtesy of Texas Instruments. On the TI website I could not find anything about it. So are companies suddenly shy of publicity when they've made revolutionary breakthroughs? They would be blowing it all over the internet and any other medium they could get access to.
William, were you been breaking your own alcohol ban just prior to posting this thread?
I can understand the scepticism. In fact, the new device, still in the early stages of development, has been launched in press briefings that are covered in specialist science magazines such as the New Scientist. See this link to the NS report:
Mark and Peter,
The Ö÷²¥´óÐã has run the story (last time I looked this is a bbc site!) and I've read about it on science news sites. It's amazing what science is able to do these days to heal the sick, give sight to the blind, and now give hearing to the deaf! Messianic science? You better believe it.
The Sunday Times did a piece recently on similar software being developed for video gamers but with one eye on broader applications.
It was test driven by a ST writer and it had to be "tuned" into the writers thoughts, but he was very impressed.
My reservation is this;-
The main limitations on the size of mobile phones/pdas is the interface with our eyes and ears.
This story illustrates how this could later result in electronics which tap directly into the nervous system for simplicity and compatness.
For example, imagine a "mobile phone" combined with your credit card and house keys all rolled into one chip.
Where would be the obvious place to carry it? One option will no doubt be eventually under your skin.
Imagine instant access to a souped up super google 24/7...
"ye shall be as gods...."
Could those repelled by the idea become pariahs?
Lastly, if thought patterns can be mapped for stimulating electronics the obvious reverse is that the same electronics could also easily be used to influence thought patterns!
Imagine a state where this technology was rolled out en-masse followed by a coup from a dictator who grabbed contol of the system linked into everyones heads!
PB
I'll remain skeptical on this one until I see more evidence. Lies in science and technology are nothing new. A Korean scientist said he had cloned a human being a few years ago. Now he's in jail for telling that lie. Not that it won't happen one day but this video was not a convincing demonstration for me. I'll try to keep an open mind if and when more develops.
Hello Henry, pb,
Could either of you please point me to any other original source than the NewScientist article? As Henry says, this is indeed a Ö÷²¥´óÐã site, but Williams mentioning of it was only pointing to the YouTube clip and NS article, that does not equal inependent verification or original reporting. Like Mark, I still feel a good deal of skepticism. But would be happy to be shown wrong, I'm all for scientific and technological pogress.
greets,
Peter