There is no denying that the future is coming, especially given the large number of technological advances that have been emerging in recent times.
In this case, they were researchers from the University of Wits in Johannesburg, South Africa, who take the credit, connecting, for the first time in history, a brain to the Internet.
Brainternet: Your brain connected to the Internet
In order to perform this difficult task the researchers connected to the brain of the users a small device capable of detecting brain waves, which instantly transmits them to a computer that retransmits them to a program that displays the information through a server Internet.
Adam Pantanowitz - project supervisor - stated that "Brainternet is a new frontier in the brain-computer interface system" in a world where there is "a lack of understandable data on how a human brain works and processes information."
The ability to monitor brain activity for the first time opens up a whole new world of possibilities, although many tools are missing that may soon be developed.
Until now, users had the possibility of moving an arm or other actions to see how their brain reacted, but the idea of enabling, in addition to these outlets, the input of information to the brain, is in the minds of researchers , which, personally, I find a little disturbing.
Beyond the dangers that we may believe you have this technology, there are many possibilities that go beyond doing Google searches by just thinking or writing a letter without having to press the keys on a keyboard.
In the area of medicine, many of the ideas are promising. For a person with Alzheimer's or any similar illness, this tool can become important, because it could allow you to know which of the actions you carry out generate positive results, and even doctors can monitor their activity to get a better understanding of the operation .
You may also have applications in the academic area. The possibility of knowing when a student is learning, when they are bored or learning to have fun can really be used.
There is also the possibility of knowing much more in the way the brains work, even in people with conditions of schizophrenia, cerebral hyperactivity or almost any other pathology, because the possibilities are endless.
For the researchers responsible for this project, the brain can end up becoming a node of the Internet of things, as in a kind of extra information, a new point, a new page, a new access zone, where the creator of human consciousness ends up joining the largest information network imaginable: Brainternet.
What do you think about this controversial futuristic project? Do you think Brainternet can generate more benefits than problems or the other way around? In the future will we be able to monitor our brain waves through our smartphones?