For the first time, human beings have achieved direct brain-to-brain communication through non-invasive electroencephalographs (EEGs). In a recently published study, three people were tasked with correctly guiding a block in a video game.
Two individuals in separate rooms were designated as "senders" and could see the block, while the third "receiver" relied solely on the senders' signals to correctly position the block.
The EEG signals from the sending brains were converted into magnetic pulses delivered to the receiver via a transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) device.
If the senders wanted to instruct a rotation, for example, they would focus on a high-frequency flashing light, which the receiver would perceive as a flash of light in their visual field.
To stop the rotation, the senders would focus on a low-frequency light, which the receiver would interpret as the absence of light within the defined time interval. Using this binary start/stop code, the five groups tested on this "BrainNet" system achieved over 80% accuracy in aligning the block.
A leading figure in the field of brain-to-brain communication, Miguel Nicolelis had previously conducted studies linking rat brains through implanted electrodes, effectively creating an "organic computer."
The rats' brains synchronized their electrical activity across the same extent as a single brain, and the super-brain routinely outperformed individual rats in distinguishing between two electrical patterns.
Building on this research, the leaders of the human "BrainNet" study claim that their non-invasive device can connect an unlimited number of individuals. As brain-to-brain signaling becomes increasingly complex, human collaboration will reach extraordinary levels, enabling us to discover new ideas and thought processes.
Rather than building "neural networks" in software, operations like BrainNet are literally connecting networks of neurons, creating enormous amounts of biological processing power.
We are rapidly approaching the prediction of Nobel Prize-winning physicist Murray Gell-Mann, who envisioned that "thoughts and feelings would be completely shared with none of the selectivity or deception permitted by language."
Adapted from Peter Diamandis