The Interface Moved Inside

"OK, I have a lot to say."

That's the first thing she said when the research team asked her to say whatever she'd like. She's 68. She has primary lateral sclerosis. For years, her voice has been fading into something almost no one can understand anymore. She smiled, moved her lips, and those words came out of a computer speaker as clear as a phone call.

The technology is called a brain-computer interface (BCI). Paradromics is currently leading the way in this area, although I'm guessing you've heard their competitors' name (Neuralink) too because of who is attached to it. Their Connexus system implants over 400 electrodes below the brain's surface and uses AI to decode the neurological signals for language. What made this moment different is that the system can distinguish between three things: the words she physically tries to say, the words she imagines saying, and the words she hears. The New York Times covered it this week (paywall, fair warning), and it's worth finding a way past the gate.

I wrote a post a while back called "The Pocket Barrier Is Disappearing" about the shift happening from our phones to our faces, to AR glasses, and eventually further. This feels like that "eventually further." We've gone from holding a device, to wearing one, to implanting one. The interface moved inside. Now I understand changing your glasses is different than having brain surgery (duh!), but it's amazing nonetheless.

For her, this is not abstract. It's the difference between being locked inside a failing body, invisible to the people she loves, and calling her grandchildren on the phone. She told the team her advice for them was to "pray continuously." She's learning the device and said it's "a work in progress." (That one hit me a little; aren't we all?)

The possibilities from here are big in both directions, which is true of almost every meaningful technology that's ever existed. I don't think that's a reason to pause on the work (starting you, Dario). I think it's a reason to be intentional about who is doing the work and why. Plus, direct brain-to-brain signals sound like X-Men-type stuff, and who wouldn't think that's cool? Although I may have to be more cautious of my thoughts in certain situations...

For now, a woman in Michigan can tell her grandkids she loves them without anyone having to guess what she said. That's not a small thing. That's the whole thing.

Disclosure: I'm an early investor in Paradromics, so I'm a fan and biased. Your mileage may vary.