• Mossy Feathers (They/Them)
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    3 months ago

    You can do this non-invasively though. Like, nothing I’ve heard about this so far justifies cracking someone’s skull open for it. I mean, someone came up with a way of controlling their avatar’s ears in VRChat using a Muse2 headset. While that’s not quite on the same level as being able to control a mouse pointer, I’ve seen articles on more advanced non-invasive BCIs being used to interface with PCs or even controlling robotic arms.

    Edit: if this was giving him some kind of feedback, like making him feel things in response to on-screen information, I’d feel differently. However, as of right now, this seems like an overly invasive procedure for something that can be done without an implant.

    • @eco@lemm.ee
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      123 months ago

      Noland set the BCI point and click world record in the first 7 hours of using it. They’re clearly doing something right.

    • @NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      The fidelity of information we can get outside of the brain is much less than the fidelity of what we can get inside the brain.

      Neuralink has 1024 electrodes (and I’ve heard them talk about 4k if memory serves in the future)

      They’re going to be able to do much more than point and click in the future, but as mentioned below they also broke the point and click record in the first 7 hours using it.

      You gotta start somewhere though and point and click is a good space to start and can be meaningful.

      With 2 or more implants one in the motor cortex and one connected below the break in his spine, he might even be able to walk one day. But you don’t start with that. You build up to it.

      Also being the first human patient in a trial may delay his personal ability to enter a future trial like a walking one with the same patient. So he’s taking on various future risks to his future potential lifestyle being the first human trial.