The ability to see thoughts has been an unobtainable piece of technology for decades, ever since it was dreamt up for science fiction. However, one team of scientists believe that have finally cracked the code for a mind-reading device… using AI!
Netherlands scientists create mind-reading device
Created by scientists at Radboud University in the Netherlands, this new device reads brainwaves and reconstructs them visually. Via PetaPixel, this device has been successfully able to visualise thoughts from the human brain.
In the experiment, the scientists attached two patients to a “functional magnetic resonance imaging” scanner. This scanner works by measuring the brain’s blood flow and how it changes.
For the experiment, the patients were each shown a set of photographs. While they were shown the photographs, their brainwaves were measured and fed into an AI. Afterwards, the AI reconstructed these brainwaves into what the brain saw.
The experiment showed that the brain doesn’t actually perceive faces as how they actually look. Instead, there are vast differences between what your eyes see and what your brain sees. Check out the comparison below:
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The start of mind reading
Lead study author and AI researcher Thirza Dado believes that this technology is essential to create mind reading devices. In the future, Thirza believes that accurate mind reading without image prompt will be tangible.
The researcher claimed that, one day, this technology will be able to decode dreams. This would allow you to look into your own imagination, if you wanted to.
“We can train the algorithm not only to picture accurately a face you’re looking at, but also any face you imagine vividly, such as your mother’s,” they said. “By developing this technology, it would be fascinating to decode and recreate subjective experiences, perhaps even your dreams.”
One feature of this technology that Dado wants to explore is the use of mind reading on coma patients. The scientist believes that this will give us a true look into how coma patients perceive life around them.
Of course, this technology is nowhere near the state that it needs to be for that. While it can construct images from the brain, it’s not at the point where it can recreate real-time thoughts. Maybe in the future?