BLaine computer interface technology is at the heart of movies like Ready Player One, The Matrix, and Avatar. But outside of the world of science fiction, BCIs are used on Earth to help paralyzed people communicate, to study dreams, and to control robots.

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk announced in January that his neurotechnology company Neuralink had implanted the first computer chip in a human. In February, he announced that patients can now control a computer mouse with their thoughts.

Neuralink’s purpose is noble. It is about helping people who are unable to communicate or interact with their environment. But details are scant. The project quickly raised alarms about brain privacy, the risk of hacking, and other potential issues.

Dr Steve Kassem, senior research scientist at Neuroscience Research Australia, said the Neuralink news should be taken with a “large pinch of salt”. It’s not the first company to do neural implants, he says. In fact, Australia is a ‘hotspot’ for relevant neurological research.

Does the patient dream of electric sheep?

The University of Technology Sydney project, which has received millions of dollars in funding from the Department of Defense, is now in its third phase to demonstrate how soldiers can use brain signals to control robotic dogs.

“We succeeded [demonstrating] Handa can use his brain to issue commands that direct the dog to reach its destination completely hands-free…so the dog can use its hands for other purposes. ” he says.

Soldiers use assisted reality glasses with special graphene interfaces to issue brain signal commands to send the robot dog to different locations. Lin said he is working on making the technology multi-user, faster and able to control other vehicles such as drones.

Meanwhile, Sydney company Neurode has developed a headset to help people with ADHD by monitoring the brain and sending electronic pulses to help them cope with changes. Another his UTS team is working on it. dream machine, which aims to reconstruct dreams from brain signals. It uses artificial intelligence and brainwave data to generate images from your subconscious mind.

And then there are the implants.

good signal

Synchron started at the University of Melbourne and is now based in New York. it is, Mesh inserted into blood vessels in the brain This allows patients to use the Internet by transmitting signals that operate similar to Bluetooth. People can shop, send emails, and communicate online using technology that controls computers.

Synchron has implanted and monitored mesh in many patients, including one in Australia. Patient P4, who has motor neuron disease, had mesh implanted several years ago.

“I think he’s had over 200 sessions,” says Gil Lind, Sychron’s senior director of advanced technology. “He is still progressing well with his implant treatment and is working very closely with us.

“He was able to use the computer through the system…As the disease progressed, it became very difficult to use the physical buttons.

“This allows for online banking, communication with caregivers, [with] Someone I love. ”

Dr Christina Maher from the University of Sydney’s Brain and Mind Center said Synchron’s technology is “miles ahead” of Elon Musk’s, and is more sophisticated and safer as it does not require open brain surgery. Stated. The researchers have also published more than 25 papers, she said.

“As for Neuralink, we don’t know much about it.

“My understanding is that the top priority for them is to test the effectiveness and safety of surgical robots…so they are focusing more on the robotic side of things, and this is a commercial It makes sense from a perspective.”

Need for regulation

But amidst the hype and promise of neurotechnology, there are concerns about who will have access to the beneficial technologies and how they will be protected.

Maher says it’s important to balance the need for innovation with appropriate regulation while allowing access to those who really need it. She says the “gap between the haves and have-nots” is being discussed not just in Australia but around the world.

“As brain-computer interfaces become more common, people will be divided into those who can afford them and those who cannot,” she says.

Lind said Synchron is focused on those who have the most to gain, such as quadriplegic patients. “We want to expand it as much as possible. We hope to reach a bigger market and help more people in need,” he says.

A personal and pivotal moment for him, he says, was seeing the faces of the clinicians, team, and family of the first patient who received a successful implant.

At Neuralink, Kasem warns that there are always risks when technology is developed by a company that exists to make a profit. “A cell phone plan for the brain is not what we want,” he says.

“And what if this gets hacked? There’s always a risk when it’s not a closed system.”

But it’s more likely that Neuralink will use people’s data.

“Like every app on your phone or computer, Neuralink monitors everything it can. Everything it can,” Kasem says.

“It will be stored somewhere.”

Protect your brain data

Maher agrees that data is a big issue, saying the risk of hacking remains when devices are connected to the internet. She says much of the social media, biometrics, and other data is already out there, but her brain’s data is different.

“meanwhile [BCI companies] They are subject to the same data privacy laws…The difference in many people’s minds is that brain data is very private and it’s your personal thoughts.

“The big picture here is that once you start recording large amounts of brain data, there are absolutely megatons of data out there,” she says.

Despite privacy concerns, Kasem says interacting with the brain has exciting potential.

“We need to remember how powerful and important the brain is. All you are, all you have been, and all you will ever be is your brain and nothing else.” he says.

Quoting American physicist Emerson Pugh, he says the brain has trillions of neural connections that lead to “infinite opportunities.” hand. ”