Ramez Naam Looks At Linking Brains

 Brain Interfaces  

More and more, the science of sending sights, sounds, and sensations in and out of human brains, and the frontiers of augmenting and transferring memory and intelligence is moving closer to practical implementation. In a recent talk, author Ramez Naam looks at the field, and some of the implications.

We are closer to being able to think together, through the literal linking of our minds, than you may have believed possible. In this TEDx Talk, Ramez Naam about the evolutionary and revolutionary technologies making this possible.

"Once you liberate the digital information from the brain, you can send it anywhere," says Naam, referring to recent experiments conducted by Miguel Nicolelis where two rats had their brains connected thousands of miles apart.  This research has huge implications for the future of communication according to Naam.

Citing the example of how technology has come into existence because communication exploded via the printing press, newspaper, radio, television and now the Internet, Naam believes that brain-machine and brain-brain interfaces will also extend our communication powers.

We will literally be able to see through the eyes of others, possibly leading to a world of greater understanding, he proposes.

"I loved giving this talk. The audience laughed a lot, as I hoped they would. It was one of the best, most receptive crowds I’ve spoken to," writes Naam on his blog.

Naam is an author of science nonfiction and also of science fiction that explores what could be. The ideas discussed in the video above help drive the plot of his fiction work.

He was born in Cairo, Egypt, and came to the US at the age of 3. Naam spent 13 years at Microsoft, where he led teams developing early versions of Microsoft Outlook, Internet Explorer, and the Bing search engine.

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His career took him to the role of Partner and Director of Program Management within Microsoft, with deep experience leading teams working on cutting edge technologies such as machine learning, search, massive scale services, and artificial intelligence.

Between stints at Microsoft, Naam founded and ran Apex NanoTechnologies, the world's first company devoted entirely to software tools to accelerate molecular design. He holds 19 patents related to search engines, information retrieval, web browsing, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.

Ramez is also the H.G. Wells Award-winning author of four books: including More Than Human: Embracing the Promise of Biological Enhancement, a look at the power of technology to improve the human condition; and the near-future neuroscience thrillers Nexus and Crux, about a technology that links minds, and the implications it has for the world. His most recent nonfiction book, on accelerating innovation to overcome environmental and natural resource challenges, is The Infinite Resource: The Power of Ideas on a Finite Planet. He lives in Seattle, where he writes and speaks full time.


SOURCE  TEDx Talks

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