Scientists use computer to 'read minds' on screen- (eventually being able to record dreams?)

[The Straight Story]

Scientists use computer to 'read minds' on screen
Scientists have discovered how to read 'the mind’s eye' using a computer that can replicate what humans are seeing or recalling by monitoring their brain activity.

The breakthrough, by a team at the University of California, raises the prospect of scientists eventually being able to record dreams or enable police to identify criminals by recalling the memories of a witness.

The development is similar to that envisaged in the film Minority Report, in which an individual’s private thoughts can be readily accessed by the authorities.


Neurologists at the university have already matched patterns of activity in the brain with static images seen by the person, and now say it is possible to “decode” signals generated in the brain by moving scenes.

Their work, which has yet to be peer reviewed, could lead to technology that would allow security agencies to interrogate prisoners.

The experiment used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology to scan the brains of two patients as they watched videos, linking patterns of activity in the visual cortex of their brains with movement and colours in the footage.

The information was used to program software to be able to display a blurry 'mind's eye' version of the footage of the films the patients were watching.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/6482189/Scientists-use-computer-to-read-minds-on-screen.html

[Pavlovs DiOgie]

1. wow

The next step will be alowing them to project images directly to the mind. Virtual reality may not be that far off after all.

[dysfunctional press]

2. just think how it could eventually revolutionize education.

instead of going to school to learn a trade, you just download the software into your noggin.

and the travel industry, ala 'total recall'...if you can't afford the trip, at least you can afford the memories.

[Waiting For Everyman]

3. Reading thoughts isn't new.

The link below was in the 1990's (coyly phrased as reachable in the future, when in fact, it was already being done for a long time):

http://mfhr.org/new_vistas.htm
excerpt:

Prior to the mid-21st century, there will be a virtual explosion of knowledge in the field of neuroscience. We will have achieved a clear understanding of how the human brain works, how it really controls the various functions of the body, and how it can be manipulated (both positively and negatively). One can envision the development of electromagnetic energy sources, the output of which can be pulsed, shaped, and focused, that can couple with the human body in a fashion that will allow one to prevent voluntary muscular movements, control emotions (and thus actions), produce sleep, transmit suggestions, interfere with both short-term and long-term memory, produce an experience set, and delete an experience set. This will open the door for the development of some novel capabilities that can be used in armed conflict, in terrorist/hostage situations, and in training. New weapons that offer the opportunity of control of an adversary without resorting to a lethal solution or to collateral casualties can be developed around this concept. This would offer significant improvements in the capabilities of our special operation forces. Initial experimentation should be focused on the interaction of electromagnetic energy and the neuromuscular junctions involved in voluntary muscle control. Theories need to be developed, modeled, and tested in experimental preparations. Early testing using in vitro cell cultures of neutral networks could provide a focus for more definitive intact animal testing. If successful, one could envision a weapon that would render an opponent incapable of taking any meaningful action involving any higher motor skills, (e.g. using weapons, operating tracking systems). The prospect of a weapon to accomplish this when targeting against an individual target is reasonable; the prospect of a weapon effective against a massed force would seem to be more remote. Use of such a device in and enclosed area against multiple targets (hostage situation) may be more difficult than an individual target system, but probably feasible.

It would also appear possible to create high fidelity speech in the human body, raising the possibility of covert suggestion and psychological direction. When a high power microwave pulse in the gigahertz range strikes the human body, a very small temperature perturbation occurs. This is associated with a sudden expansion of the slightly heated tissue. This expansion is fast enough to produce an acoustic wave. If a pulse stream is used, it should be possible to create an internal acoustic field in the 5 -15 kilohertz range, which is audible. Thus, it may be possible to "talk" to selected adversaries in a fashion that would be more disturbing to them.

In comparison to the discussion in the paragraphs above, the concept of imprinting an experience set is highly speculative, but nonetheless, highly exciting. Modern electromagnetic scattering theory raises the prospect that ultra short pulse scattering through the human brain can result in reflected signals that can be used to construct a reliable estimate of the degree of central nervous system arousal. This concept behind this "remote EEG" is to scatter off of action potentials or ensembles of action potentials in major central nervous system tracts. Assuming we will understand how our skill are imprinted and recalled, it might be possible to take this concept one step further and duplicate the experience set in another individual. The prospect of providing a "been-there-done-that" knowledge base could provide a revolutionary change in our approach to specialized training. How this can be done or even if it can be done are significant unknowns. The impact of success would boggle the mind!
(end excerpt)

________



"No matter how paranoid you are, what they're actually doing is worse than you can possibly imagine." -- Ralph J. Gleason (founder of Rolling Stone, editor of Ramparts)


"If it works, you won't hear about it." -- Dr. Eldon Byrd (physicist, expert and researcher, Marine Corps Nonlethal Electromagnetic Weapons project, and the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute in Bethesda, MD)


Whatever comes out in public - in admissions or leaks or sci-fi plots - is only what's already long ago obsolete.

Electromagnetic interception, fabrication, and erasure of people's thoughts was being done in the mid to late 1960's (to civilians). Never admitted. And only recently leaking out a little on the internet.

This "breakthrough" in the article is more of the same on a very old line of research. What's actually cutting edge by now is much worse than this - that's a very safe bet. As always, decades from now we'll know how bad it is now.