BMI Chips, Unlock Super-Human Abilities
See what a small chip, drilled into your brain, has to offer
Brain Machine Interface or BMI, also mentioned as Brain Computer Interface, is an electronic microchip that can boost your cerebral capabilities. Something similar to what we have seen in movie LUCY or TV series Limitless, but instead of being the outcome of some unknown drug, it can be done with some logic. So let us dive in, and crack that logic!
What are BMI Chips
BMIs are electronic microchips, they will be implanted into the human brain with the help of robots, to achieve accuracy. Otherwise, interference with any tissue or vessel might cause brain trauma or puncture, respectively.
Some main components of these chips are as follows:
- A Battery
- An inductive charger
- Electrodes (wires thinner than our hair, and approx. 2mm–3mm long)
- Bluetooth
One thing should be noted that components differ from manufacturer to manufacturer, these are the components Neuralink mentioned.
How These Chips Work
Our brain is very complex, but the concept I am going to share is pretty simple. We won’t dive into detail, as I am not an expert in this as well.
Some of you might already know, how a neural network in AI works. It is inspired by our brains. Our brain has billions of neurons, these neurons are responsible for generating pulses, which are communicated between neurons by a process known as synapses. So where does that chip come into play? The chip will act like a micro-controller, the electrodes attached will generate pulses to perform our desired tasks.
Neuralink
Many entrepreneurs are working on BMIs-including Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg-but the most notable work has been done by Neuralink. Neuralink is Elon Musk run company.
They are notable mainly because of two reasons, their mass production abilities, and their ambitious vision. Neuralink has come with a vision to open ways to new researches in the brain. Elon Musk stated it as the need of the hour. A world where machines are getting smarter every day, a man should not be left dumb behind, he stated. Neuralink created a prototype, which was tested on different test objects. They have tested it on a monkey, which was able to control a robotic arm with the help of his brain. Read their paper for more interesting information.
What BMIs Have to Offer
Once implanted in your brain, BMIs can help detect brain injuries, and according to Elon Musk, it would be capable of curing them by generating counter pulses. It would also open the way to new researches, with the help of data collected from the brain. What is even more exciting, these BMIs would make one able to communicate with others, non-verbally. You would neither require any language to communicate nor any physical contact.
If you are wondering how? The answer is quite simple, the BMI would read the impulses generated by the brain to communicate, which will then be transferred to the receiving BMI, to communicate between two individuals.
Many great ideas are lost when they are put into words, with this technology we would be able to cater to ideas more effectively. Moreover, we would be able to control our devices merely with our brains.
Who knows someday we might find something even greater, and groundbreaking, like a perfect recall, and programmable memory. Fingers crossed!
Potential Barriers for BMIs
BMIs are electronic microchips, which can transfer and receive data similar to what a sim card does, but more advanced and capable. Connected directly into a sensitive organ, the human brain, it comes with its own threats. These devices like our other devices would be hackable, but instead of hacking into a phone, it would be we ourselves getting hacked. The second potential challenge would be the transmission of data from the brain. The impulses generated by our brain are very weak to be transmitted, we need to find an effective way to amplify, and transmit those signals, for research purposes. The third potential barrier would be the approval of the product. Drugs take very long to get approved, as they have to go through a lot of testing and are checked for side effects, before going into public use. The brain implant is even more serious, also there is no defined structure to test such products for aftermaths and side effects. It would take a while for regulatory bodies to get prepared, both physically and mentally.
End Note
It is a promising field, which can yield many potential benefits. Ideally, we will get rid of all brain diseases. The communication we know would change, entirely. A tourist would be able to communicate without any language barrier. The human brain which has been a mystery for decades would unfold resulting in breaking grounds for new research and technologies. We might become able enough to recall any moment of the past, so perfectly as if we were living it. We might find a way to program our brain, just like we add software to our computer. That day would be more beautiful than landing on the moon. Yet we have a lot of challenges to face, before that day.
That’s all Folks!
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