Imagine a technology that provides instant access to all the information accumulated by mankind - while you just need to think about a specific subject or question. Then information exchange, education, work and our entire world as a whole will change greatly.
In an article published in Frontiers in Neuroscience, an international research group led by experts from the University of Berkeley and the American Institute of Molecular Manufacturing predicts that exponential advances in nanotechnology, nanomedicine, artificial intelligence and computing power will lead to the creation of a brain-to-cloud interface this century. that will connect the neurons and synapses of the brain to cloud computing networks.
Brain nanobots
The concept of the brain-cloud interface was pioneered by futurist and inventor Ray Kurzweil, who suggested that the neural nanorobots - underlying the idea of Robert Freitas, lead author of the study - could connect the brain's neocortex to the “synthetic neocortex” in the cloud. These nanobots will provide direct control over the signals from brain cells.
“These devices will move through the circulatory system, cross the blood-brain barrier and be precisely positioned between brain cells or even inside them,” says Freitas. "They will wirelessly exchange information with a cloud-based supercomputer, providing real-time brain monitoring and information retrieval."
Internet of thoughts
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Scientists believe that such a "cloudy" brain will make it possible to download information similar to the one shown in the movie "The Matrix".
The brain-cloud system will provide a person with instant access to all information in the cloud, while significantly improving the brain's ability to learn.
“Perhaps this technology will help create a 'global superbrain' by connecting many people and computer networks and enabling collective thinking,” said study leader Dr. Nuno Martins. - Previously, the experimental system 'BrainNet' has already been tested, which allowed people to exchange information through the cloud through thought. It used recording of electrical brain signals made through the skull of the 'senders' and magnetic stimulation of the brain of the 'recipients', making it possible to perform tasks together.
Connection - when?
Existing supercomputers are already capable of processing neural information at the speed required for the brain-cloud interface to function. Perhaps the bottleneck of the brain-cloud system will be the transfer of data between neurons and computers in the cloud.
"The challenge is not only creating enormous bandwidth, but how to ensure that information is transferred between the computer and neurons through tiny devices implanted in the brain."
One proposed solution is the use of magnetoelectric nanoparticles to amplify signals between neurons and the cloud.
“These nanoparticles have already been used in experiments with mice to couple external magnetic fields to the fields of neurons - that is, to detect and locally amplify these signals and thus allow them to alter the electrical activity of neurons,” says Martins. "It can work in the opposite direction: the electrical signals of neurons and nanorobots can be amplified by magnetoelectric nanoparticles to make them detectable outside the skull."
The safe introduction of nanoparticles and nanobots into the brain via the bloodstream will be the most challenging task in implementing a brain-cloud system.
“Before starting use in humans, a thorough analysis of the biodistribution and biocompatibility of nanoparticles is required. However, rapidly advancing technology could make the Internet of Thought a reality in this century,”concluded Martins.
Author: Vadim Tarabarko