Key Points
- Arnav Kapur developed AlterEgo, a headset that allows users to search the internet using thought
- The device picks up brain signals associated with words and uses them to query the internet
- It can answer questions, solve math problems, and access information discreetly and silently.
- Beyond personal use, it aims to help people with speech disorders like ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and MS (multiple sclerosis).
Media Lab Links
And its not implanted into the brain kiling you?
That was my first thought. Dude that had the surgery seeing this and just thinking,“What the fuck, man?”
While there are several ways to approach direct brain communication, they all have their benefits and drawbacks. Indirect methods, like this one, are much safer. But direct implantations, while riskier to get going, have the potential for near unlimited speed (both in bandwidth as well as reaction time).
The latter definitely will have more benefits in the long run.
Does that mean I’d want one in my head right now? Absolutely not. But if I were a unable to control most of my appendages, I’d definitely consider it.
It’s how it starts, then you become Doctor Octopus.
I take back my previous comment. Where do I sign?
No, it appears to be an external headset, although it was noted that people wearing it looked like they had head injuries, but they are working on improving it so that it is less visible.