Synthetic Telepathy - Future Communication or Dark Art
Synthetic Telepathy - Future Communication or Dark Art - Inspired By Elle
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UNDERSTANDING SYNTHETIC TELEPATHY
There is much development in the world of technology making it truly difficult to keep up. I thought it would be great to update you on Synthetic Telepathy, which is a new form of communication. Equally, it is important to consider the merits as to whether this is the future of communication, or whether it has implications as a dark art. The Neuroscience Research Institute of Europe in Sweden developed this new age of worldwide access to mind perusing and mind control technology. This technology has been the subject of much research and investment, especially by the military, intelligence agencies like DARPA (namely The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), who recognize the value of this technology.
WHAT IS SYNTHETIC TELEPATHY?
Well, it is basically an artificial means of transmitting feelings or thoughts between mind and device over a distance, without using the traditional senses. Synthetic telepathy describes communication between a computer and the human mind. It enables the correspondence of thoughts between any given individual and the computer system operators. Furthermore distance is not a barrier, when it comes to this kind of communication.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
This technology may seem futuristic, however experiencing synthetic telepathy, or indeed "artificial telepathy" is not too much of an extraordinary experience. It is, in fact, as simplistic as if receiving a telephone call in one's mind.
The majority of the involved technology is very similar to that used in mobile phone technology. Satellites provide an interface between the sender and the collector. A computer "multiplexer" routes the sender’s voice signals via microwave towers to a particularly characterized area or a cell. A multiplexer ("MUX") is basically a device which allows the combination of analog and/or digital signals with higher speed devices to operate on a single shared medium or device. It provides bulking of signals in direct and wireless telephony, internet communications and digital broadcasting. The signal locates the "receiver" with exact accuracy to usually feet away from the real location. The difference with this technology is that this all occurs in the human brain, and not in telephonics.
We have all had those moments where with absolute clarity we know some information, or perhaps a voice relaying this. This technology works exactly in this way, however the human skull has no 'firewall' to block these signals. The brain houses complex systems which are actually the nerve centre of the whole body. Clearly much electrical activity occurs within the brain, sending signals via neurons to other parts of the body to indicate actions to be taken. The human brain and computers share a common language, which is essentially electrical impulses. Synthetic telepathy reads electrical activity using an electroencephalograph (or "EEG"). The communication is split into two spheres, passive where listening is achieved, and active where transmission is made.
HOW CAN IT BE USED?
The application of this technology is vast as it would provide an invisible form of silent communication. It could mean that eventually humans could command instructions to computers and other devices, simply by use of thought.
The Duke University monkey experiment in 2008, demonstrated that this technology was very effective. Indeed, a female monkey called Idoya was implanted with electrodes which collected electrical data from the motor and sensory brain areas as the monkey walked at different speeds on a treadmill. This data from the 12lb monkey was then transmitted in real-time from Durham, North Carolina to a five feet tall (200lb) humanoid robot in Kyoto, Japan. Miraculously, the monkey was able to make the robot move by thought alone. Neuroscientist Miguel A. L. Nicolelis from Brazil, believes that one day scientists will be able to read, decode and send this signalling both ways. That is, not only to first communicate movements but also to send tactile feedback to the somatosensory cortex of the brain. This part of the brain processes sensory information, so that 'feel' can be experienced as well as greater spatial awareness.
This technology could have great benefit in the medicinal field where individuals with conditions where they cannot control their limbs, could use synthetic telepathy to firstly communicate. Ultimately, this technology could potentially afford full movement.
Similar technologies are already being used in search engines and "intelligent assistants" like SIRI, whilst currently requiring direct interaction thought-based actions will not be far down the line.
Clearly, the military and intelligence agencies have invested heavily in this technology as it enables secret communications to troops, spies and other intelligence staff. Furthermore, as discreet interfaces become available, it will enable agents to interface with technology invisibly, taking the world of James Bond to another level. Linked to electro-magnetics, this technology has implications for every aspect of the existence of humanity including surveillance, invasive radar, physical wellbeing and ultimately impact our environment.
At the point when it is used in a "nonlethal" weapons framework, it turns into a perfect means for killing or defaming a political adversary. Peace protestors, inconvenient columnists and the pioneers of vocal opposition parties can be dazed into silence through use of this 'weapon'.
Synthetic telepathy could be utilized for telemetry (remote controlled) medicinal services and two spheres, passive where only listening occurs, or active where transmission is made in addition, as a tool for the government for mind control.
SOME NEGATIVE ASPECTS
Neuroscientists in numerous nations say they fear these new strategies and request a moral open deliberation before it is past the point of no return. They bring up that the potential for this type of technology to be abused is great, as it is such a great way to influence anyone’s behaviour and opinion. The issue is that synthetic telepathy can become an ideal weapon for mental torment and secret data theft. It provides an extremely effective means to misusing, bugging, harassing, controlling, and assaulting the brain of any individual on earth. It can act like an open window to quasi-demonic ownership of someone else's spirit.
Synthetic telepathy additionally offers a perfect means for the invasion of an individual’s privacy. In the event that all thoughts can be read and made use of, then Passwords, PIN numbers, and individual insider facts just cannot be ensured protection.
POSITIVE USES?
The US armed force has commissioned some analysts of a university to make protective caps intended to build communication between the thoughts of a soldier and different officers. Currently, Stephen Hawking is being used as a human subject for research in trying to commercialize mind reading innovation into synthetic telepathy for medical purposes and as a way to help the future analysis of neurodegenerative issues. This innovation can also be of very good use for the video gaming industry which has long since been dreaming of changing how computer games are played by utilizing human thoughts alone.
The ability to transmit thoughts into somebody’s head has marketing and advertising applications as well, as depicted by Horizon Media and Holosonic, for the Accident and Emergency television series, Paranormal State. The promotion campaign in New York made use of a billboard to beam an ultrasonic beam on the people, which when passed through from a passerby, created a pre-recorded voice that seemed as though it were originating from inside that person’s head. The cases of synthetic telepathy, be it one way or another, are everywhere in our society and offer subtle clues as to the fate of communication in the future.
With everything taken into account, the late rise of synthetic telepathy and mind reading technologies demonstrate to us a future where the military can be more proficient, the business world has innovative new items to take over the world, and the medical world benefit by beocimng more efficient and effective.
WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS YOU NEED TO BE AWARE OF?
Like many advanced technologies, synthetic telepathy offers both advantages and disadvantages to society. Some of its future implications are not obvious to the ordinary citizen going about their normal day.
We’ve already discussed how synthetic telepathy could be used in military applications. The Army is going to be a big customer. Orders could be sent from high command and acted on upon almost instinctively, reducing tactical response times. On the battlefield, synthetic telepathy could be a critical factor.
Still, the drive among many nations to sell consumer technology is high. Governments love their tax revenues. Money bulging in the state coffers is a power unto itself.
And let’s not forget that synthetic telepathy also offers the state an opportunity to spy on the civilian population. Total mind control may be a long way off. Yet to be able to read or at least pick up fragments of what civilians are thinking - or crucially, plotting - helps protect a government from civil unrest.
Why not disguise the state surveillance device as a consumer brain-computer interface ("BCI")? That way there's no need to squander valuable tax revenue on mass production. Make the new device as sexy as an I-phone and you can get the unwitting populace to buy them for themselves.
It wouldn’t be hard for a creative government next to tinker with the BCI’s software and plant some malware that reads the user’s mind and transmits it to the Government Communications Headquarters in the UK, also known as "GCHQ".
The Orwellian snoops needn’t only be the state. As mentioned earlier in this article, marketing and advertising companies can benefit too from this dark art. Those working for the big international brands could use synthetic telepathy to build up a picture of the user’s consumer tastes. British Airways patented a pill in 2016, which monitors passenger's happiness after taking an ingestible tablet. Synthetic telepathy could gauge a user’s demographic and lifestyle. Artistic or practical, sporty or bookish, for example.
Despite the moral drawbacks, designing a portable EEG to read other’s thoughts will have huge consumer potential. Early models would send the thought message to the recipient in the form of a text or email. One benefit would mean the chore of writing texts and emails would disappear. No more tiresome keying in of letters on tiny buttons. Just think your message, and off it goes into the ether like a radio wave.
TECHNICAL OBSTACLES
There are still many technical obstacles with using EEGs to read brain messages. First, they read only the brain’s outer folds, and, second, they’re not very accurate when it comes to mapping the brain. Current EEGs finds it difficult to differentiate between one spot on the brain and one a couple of inches distant. This may not sound like much but in the context of the brain it’s a gaping chasm. Cerebrally, it’s the same as identifying high notes as low, and vice versa.
Electrodes planted into the brain can help bridge that chasm. But this requires expensive, invasive surgery and so is unlikely to become commonplace.
Mapping the brain to determine which words or phrases activate which neuron structures in the brain is the obvious next step. This will take a decade or more, and even then the hardware still has to improve in the meantime.
Although mapping which sections of the brain light up upon thinking certain words and phrases is technically feasible. The technology is available in the form of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and magneto encephalography (MEG). Both these technologies can delve deep into the inner folds of the brain.
Once brain mapping has been achieved, EEG reading accuracy will improve a thousand fold, and portable BCIs will really take off.
SOME FINAL THOUGHTS - CREATIVE POTENTIAL OR DARK ART?
There will be many noble uses for synthetic telepathy and some less noble ones. It might be used to create great works of art straight from the soul. Artistic types will find many stimulating creative uses for their BCI.
In the medical field, BCIs could help amputees manipulate prosthetic limbs far more responsively. Gamers will be able to throw away their gaming consoles and enjoy a more real experience. With faster response times, gamers will need game designers to create ever more challenging games.
Virtual Reality will become more immersive. Mind adventurers will think their way through an amazing array of habitats on land, under sea or in the sky. These might be Earthbound or from completely imaginative worlds in far flung galaxies.
More sinister applications for synthetic telepathy include state-sponsored assassinations, using certain vulnerable civilians. These hitmen could be chosen from the disaffected ranks of the mentally ill, the destitute, or recovering drug addicts. They could be ordered into action and disposed of by the secret services when their usefulness has expired.
The question arises also how state security interrogation of suspected terrorists will operate. Will basic human rights be preserved for those being interrogated or being pressed into shady operations? Or will these individuals be regarded as less than human because of their built-in brain-computer interface? When does a human become a cyborg, and what are a cyborg’s rights in a democratic state?
There are plenty of moral issues which must be addressed before synthetic telepathy becomes widely used. Whether they will be debated or not remains to be seen. The technology may be unstoppable, steamrollering forward until it has enshrouded the world. Just like the nuclear bomb, we soon won’t be able to disinvent synthetic telepathy. Let’s hope we can use it for the good of mankind and pray it doesn’t get in the wrong hands.
References
- Pressreader - US Army developing ‘synthetic telepathy’ -
- Brain-computer interface – Wikipedia
- The Power of Thought - MIT Technology Review
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