Brain-Computer Interfaces (43)
Find narratives by ethical themes or by technologies.
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- 7 min
- Singularity Hub
- 2018
New inventions which help study or improve brain functions will hopefully become more democratized and obtainable down the road, despite being currently expensive. Machines such as wearable MRIs or Brain-Machine Interfaces ideally simplify invasive medical procedures, and provide hopes for recovery from afflictions such as strokes or depression.
- Singularity Hub
- 2018
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- 7 min
- Singularity Hub
- 2018
Hacking the Mind just got easier with these new tools
New inventions which help study or improve brain functions will hopefully become more democratized and obtainable down the road, despite being currently expensive. Machines such as wearable MRIs or Brain-Machine Interfaces ideally simplify invasive medical procedures, and provide hopes for recovery from afflictions such as strokes or depression.
What are some risks that may be involved with technology being able to control our neuronal activity? How can we ensure that adoption of this technology remains a choice and not an imposition?
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- 3 min
- Kinolab
- 2018
Wade Watts lives in an imagined future in which the OASIS, a limitless virtual reality world, acts as a constant distraction from the real world for the majority of citizens. In this scene, his virtual avatar Parzival visits the Halliday Journals, a complete archive of the memories of James Halliday, the creator of the OASIS. These memories are digitized in their complete abstract form, and seem freely accessible to anyone.
- Kinolab
- 2018
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- 3 min
- Kinolab
- 2018
The Digitization of Memory and its Consequences
Wade Watts lives in an imagined future in which the OASIS, a limitless virtual reality world, acts as a constant distraction from the real world for the majority of citizens. In this scene, his virtual avatar Parzival visits the Halliday Journals, a complete archive of the memories of James Halliday, the creator of the OASIS. These memories are digitized in their complete abstract form, and seem freely accessible to anyone.
How can tech like the “cloud” be used for the storage of abstract data like consciousness and memories? What would be potential impact on human memory if memories were easily able to become fully digital? What are the dangers of intimate memories being potentially accessible to anyone in the digital world?
Ready Player One: Halliday Journals-
- 12 min
- Kinolab
- 2011
In the 2050s, humans are able to connect their brains to an implanted digital device known as a “grain,” which stores all of their individual audiovisual memories and allows for instant replays or closer analysis of any stored memories. Liam Foxwell, one such user, discusses these devices with some friends at dinner, and later uses the data collected at this party to scrutinize his wife’s interactions with Jonas, a crude man who uses the grain for contemptible purposes. With these memories, he confronts his wife and demands objective truth from her.
- Kinolab
- 2011
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- 12 min
- Kinolab
- 2011
Digital Memory, Stored Interactions, and the Inability to Forget
In the 2050s, humans are able to connect their brains to an implanted digital device known as a “grain,” which stores all of their individual audiovisual memories and allows for instant replays or closer analysis of any stored memories. Liam Foxwell, one such user, discusses these devices with some friends at dinner, and later uses the data collected at this party to scrutinize his wife’s interactions with Jonas, a crude man who uses the grain for contemptible purposes. With these memories, he confronts his wife and demands objective truth from her.
What are the consequences of combining the fallibility of human memory with the precision of digital technology? How does over-analysis of digitally stored memories or interactions lead to anxiety or conflict in the real world? What are the dangers of placing our personal memories into a context where they can be stolen or hacked or sold? In the digital age, is anyone truly able to forget anything? How is human judgement and agency impacted by digital memory?
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- 5 min
- Kinolab
- 2014
In this vignette, Matt describes his backstory as a member of an online community who used technology called “Z-eyes” to walk each other through activities such as flirting with women at bars. The Z-eyes technology directly streams all audiovisual data which his friend Harry experiences to his screen, and Matt is additionally able to use facial recognition and information searches to offer background information which enhances Harry’s plays.
- Kinolab
- 2014
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- 5 min
- Kinolab
- 2014
Vicarious Digital Living
In this vignette, Matt describes his backstory as a member of an online community who used technology called “Z-eyes” to walk each other through activities such as flirting with women at bars. The Z-eyes technology directly streams all audiovisual data which his friend Harry experiences to his screen, and Matt is additionally able to use facial recognition and information searches to offer background information which enhances Harry’s plays.
What are some problems with technology such as this being invisible, in terms of privacy? Could this have legitimate therapeutic purposes, such as being a treatment for social anxiety? How should technology like Z-eyes be regulated?
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- 6 min
- Kinolab
- 2014
In this episode, Matt and Joe Potter, who inhabit the same cabin, tell each other short stories from their lives. Eventually, Joe Potter reveals that he killed his former father in law, and shortly after became responsible for the murdered man’s granddaughter freezing to death in the snow. Once he confesses this crime, it is revealed that Joe Potter is actually a digital consciousness trapped inside a virtual reality manipulated by Matt, designed in order to get his murder confession. Now having given a clear confession, his digital consciousness is sentenced to live inside a virtual reality, existing in nothingness for thousands of years.
- Kinolab
- 2014
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- 6 min
- Kinolab
- 2014
Digital Interrogation and Torture Methods
In this episode, Matt and Joe Potter, who inhabit the same cabin, tell each other short stories from their lives. Eventually, Joe Potter reveals that he killed his former father in law, and shortly after became responsible for the murdered man’s granddaughter freezing to death in the snow. Once he confesses this crime, it is revealed that Joe Potter is actually a digital consciousness trapped inside a virtual reality manipulated by Matt, designed in order to get his murder confession. Now having given a clear confession, his digital consciousness is sentenced to live inside a virtual reality, existing in nothingness for thousands of years.
How can virtual reality be abused? If law enforcement come to use virtual reality as an interrogation technique, what should the rules and regulations be? Is it ethical to administer such interrogation or torture techniques unknowingly on any criminal, no matter how egregious their crime?
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- 2 min
- Kinolab
- 2014
In this brief clip, Matt explains that he was once “blocked” by his wife in real life. In this society, mostly everyone possesses a brain-computer interface. and are thus able to remove anyone they please from their experience of society and the world.
- Kinolab
- 2014
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- 2 min
- Kinolab
- 2014
The Realism and Consequences of “Blocking”
In this brief clip, Matt explains that he was once “blocked” by his wife in real life. In this society, mostly everyone possesses a brain-computer interface. and are thus able to remove anyone they please from their experience of society and the world.
Does “blocking” people in the digital world translate well to the real world? Is it realistic for humans to always be able to avoid people they don’t wish to see? What might people miss out on if they block everyone who they deem unfit of their attention? Do the positives of being able to block people in the digital world outweigh the negatives, or vice versa, or neither?