Will AI replace humans? Brain-computer interfaces 🧠 are realizing another possibility: allowing carbon-based life to coexist and integrate with silicon-based civilization.
Brain-computer interfaces are developing rapidly 👇
1️⃣ Scientific evidence: These breakthroughs are solid
- ALS communication system:
In 2021, the New England Journal of Medicine confirmed — a Dutch team implanted electrodes in the patient's brain, achieving an output of 18 characters per minute through imagined writing (close to normal typing speed).
- Depression intervention:
In 2023, a Stanford team published a closed-loop DBS therapy in Nature Neuroscience, alleviating symptoms in 83% of treatment-resistant depression patients by real-time monitoring of amygdala activity.
- Spinal cord injury repair:
The Lancet reported in 2022: The brain-spine interface from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne allowed a patient paralyzed for three years to regain touch and walking ability.
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2️⃣ Technological cold war: The truth Musk hasn't told you
Musk's Neuralink is not the only player:
- Invasive: Neuralink's N1 chip (3072 electrodes) vs. BlackRock Neuroport (has implanted in 50,000 people)
- Non-invasive: Meta is developing a bracelet neural interface (EMG + AI decoding)
- Semi-invasive: Synchron's intravascular stent (no need for craniotomy, FDA has approved clinical trials)
The harsh reality:
▫️ Invasive methods pose a risk of immune rejection (Johns Hopkins University 2020 animal study: 37% electrode failure rate after 6 months)
▫️ Non-invasive methods are limited by skull signal attenuation (MIT study: EEG signal fidelity is only 1/5 that of fNIRS).
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3️⃣ A life-and-death line in the next decade: Three ultimate challenges
- Biocompatibility: The latest coating technology from the Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, extends electrode lifespan from 2 years to 8 years.
- Neural encoding and decoding: DeepMind uses Transformer models to decode monkey motor cortex signals (cover of Science sub-journal).
- Ethical nuclear explosion:
▫️ Can hackers alter memories? (Oxford University Philosophy Department warning in 2024)
▫️ Does ownership of brain data belong to individuals or companies? (The EU Brain Project has begun legislative discussions.)