For those who don't subscribe to /r/singularity or /r/futurology (or have been escaping their hum-drum lives through science (speculative) fiction for over thirty years), a Neural Lace is one of a couple of potential Mind-Computer interfaces. It is imagined as a fine net of circuits that is draped over one's head and influences the brain through very close range radio signals. Think of it as your smartphone as a hair net.
It is not the only potential direct-to-brain interface. The other one that is knocked around is the Neural Shunt: a surgically implanted plug that allows you to jack the Internet into your brain. A bit more invasive and a lot less reversible, which is why people like Elon Musk (obligatory fanboy 'squee!') are having their people look into Neural Laces. But either way, the big question is how we will interact with this new information vector.
Eyes? We don't need no stinkin' Eyes!
Most people immediately start thinking of glass-less Heads-Up Displays. We will see information laid over our vision: direction arrows, info boxes around people, prices drifting over products. These are all of the things that Augmented Reality is promising, but through goggles or glasses or contact lenses. And maybe that is the first step. Presumably, voice assistants will be part of this, so we'll ask (maybe outloud, maybe via subvocalization), "Where is the closest Starbucks?" and directions will be start appearing in our vision.
But then everything has to go through our visual cortex before it is processed by the rest of our brains. Having information read back to us is no better, it just swaps the visual cortex for the auditory one. Both are bottlenecks. Instead, the UI should be more intuitive. In fact, it should only be intuitive. Think about how you 'know' the way to your work or home or parent's house or your favorite restaurant. Rarely do you visualize it. Or, at least, I don't. I only start to visualize directions if I have to change them to get around traffic or road construction or something. Even then, there is no overlay, just me thinking inside my head as pictures. The eyes are not involved.
Just Know It (It's gotta be the lace!)
That will be the most powerful and most dangerous part of whatever Mind-Machine interface happens (and it will happen). The slowest part of the interaction will be removed: input and output. Just think what you want out into the Inter-webs. No more typing, texting, talking, or any of that. Your thoughts are intimately connected to the world. Think a question, know the answer. Do you want to know Kung Fu? Then know Kung Fu. Are you thinking about sending an email? It was just sent.
(Not OC. Copyright, Warner Brothers)
And that's the danger, too. At least one of them. Not only is our conscious mind connected, but so will our subconscious mind. Our brains will be thinking at the rest of the world and with more than the things we think we'er thinking, but also all of the things we don't know (or won't consciously admit) that we're thinking.
(Copyright, DEG, Inc.)
If you think that the crazy social media posts are bad when people have to take the time to actually type them, wait until they have them connected to all of the different layers of their psyche!
Thought Crime
That takes care of the human output to the rest of the connected world. What about the information that we will be receiving? Set aside the 'truthiness' of that information (Wow! the spell checker knew 'truthiness') and how we validate that the information that we received is correct, and think instead about more malicious stuff. Information viruses may (will) take on new dimensions of OMG.
Someone will quickly figure out how to wipe a mind via one of these devices. Someone else will figure out how to 'Incept' a thought or suggestion. They may even beat the person who figures out the full erase. Then someone else will figure out how to network minds together and create a botnet of actual brains. Then Ed Wood's uploaded persona will make "Attack of the Internet Zombies!"
There are a few potential solutions to all of this, but none of them are ready yet (neither are Neural Laces, so there is time). Bitcoin for thoughts comes to mind, as does DRM for the brain. Not perfect, but better than finding yourself part of a DDoS attack on the the mind of the US President.
Again, this will be a society changing technology similar to the personal computer and the smart phone. Many things will become easier. New opportunities and dangers will pop up. In the end, it will not make us better or worse. Just different.
In the mean time, I considering shaving my head in preparation. I just need to remember where all of the moles and bumps are so I don't slice them off with the razor.
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