Brain-computer interface, these four words are not a new term, because in the past few years, each of us has listened to it from various channels many times, as if human-computer integration can immediately become a reality.
So can the human brain really be connected to machines? What exactly is the brain-computer interface, and can those god-like functions really be realized in the end? When we mention the brain-computer interface, we immediately think of future warriors with steel bodies, or as long as we insert a root line in the brain, we can transfer all the knowledge we need into the brain, so that we can avoid the pain of learning. Yes, these functions are indeed the development direction of the brain-computer interface, but the current brain-computer interface is still 108,000 miles away from this step, in fact, 108,000 miles is still low-key, in fact, whether these functions can be realized in the end, it is still impossible to make a judgment.
There are generally two forms of brain-computer interfaces, one is invasive and the other is non-invasive.
Non-intrusive brain-computer interfaces are more easily accepted, strictly speaking, this is not an interface at all, it is actually a helmet, but this helmet is not made of steel, but is woven by a large number of signal collectors. When our brains are active, neurons emit electromagnetic waves, and this signal collection helmet can capture these signals, and then transmit these signals to the corresponding devices for analysis. With such a signal acquisition helmet, we can achieve the purpose of using our minds to control external devices. However, this non-invasive brain-computer connection device has great limitations, the signal it receives is very weak, and it is not accurate enough, and it is doomed to fail to achieve perfect human-machine integration.
To target true human-machine fusion, then you must rely on invasive brain-computer interfaces, and the most representative is Elon Musk's Neuralink.
In fact, most people know about brain-computer interfaces from Elon Musk's mouth, but in fact, he is not the only company that produces and develops brain-computer interfaces. Invasive, as the name suggests, is to get the brain-computer interface into the brain, specifically through craniotomy to insert the probe that can receive the signal directly into the gray matter of the brain, so that it can directly receive the brain's neuronal electrical signals. This method sounds difficult to accept, and it is difficult to accept not only our psychology, but also our body, and a foreign body inserted into the brain will inevitably trigger an immune response.
Elon Musk has his own solution to this, that is, to make the probe inserted into the brain as thin as possible.
Neuralink uses a very fine and very soft electrode filament, how fine is it? It is only about one-twentieth of the hair of the average person, and because it is extremely soft, it can swing with the activity of the brain, which minimizes the damage to the brain and minimizes the immune response. Even so, after all, craniotomy is still very repulsive, and the filament insertion also avoids all the blood vessels on the brain, so Elon Musk also developed a craniotomy machine for the implantation of electrode filaments. So if you really pluck up the courage to equip this brain-computer interface, how strong can you make yourself?
The answer may disappoint you, even if the brain-computer interface is installed at this stage, it can only direct the machine to complete a simple grasp function, and this will have to be trained repeatedly.
Interestingly, monkeys with brain-computer interfaces behaved faster and more accurately than people practiced grabbing things. Why is that? In fact, this is not a problem with Elon Musk and the brain-computer interface. There are as many as 8.6 billion neurons in our brain, and these neurons rely on synapses to connect them, and the number of these connections is probably not enough in hundreds of billions, as for how many, we really don't know, because human cognition of the brain and nerves is actually very limited. Now you see, because the monkey's brain is simpler than the human,so the brain-computer interface is easier to capture and distinguish the monkey's brain signals, so it is easier for the monkey to operate the external machinery through the brain-computer interface than for humans.
Now you understand why the future of brain-computer interfaces is unknown, right?
The birth and development of any kind of thing must go through three stages, first the theoretical scientist must come up with theoretical research results, then the experimental scientist can carry out experimental research according to the theory, and finally the scientific and technological personnel can transform the experimental research results into products. Brain-computer interface is essentially a scientific and technological product, if there is no progress in theoretical science and experimental science, brain-computer interface is impossible to continue to make technological breakthroughs. That is to say, the future of the brain-computer interface can go to which step, which depends on the human cognition of the brain and nerves can be a breakthrough, so whether the human-computer fusion can be realized is not determined by the brain-computer interface, but by basic science.