As AI becomes more human, to co-exist, does human intelligence need to become more artificial?
We’ve spent a lot of time philosophizing about where Artificial Intelligence will take us. Just how far away are we from achieving general AI and the implications it will have on humanity? Across the globe, companies are improving the human experience, sustaining life on our planet and significantly boosting the economy. AI could well see the next world-changing scientific discovery hailing from Silicon Valley. Especially considering the significant increase in investment over the past few years.
Technology can help alleviate the effects of Dementia and Alzheimers disease
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, there are more than 5 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s today. With a further prediction of 16 million by 2050, and 850,000 people with dementia in the UK. The degenerative disease is currently the 6th leading cause of death in the US. It has also been linked to the poor health of caregivers, due to care responsibilities associated with the disease. Having a neuroprosthetic could be the missing key to an improved quality of life for both sufferers and caregivers. Whether it’s remembering how to boil a kettle safely, where they live or how to dress is hugely significant.
Elon Musk’s new venture Neuralink merges the human brain and AI and explores what this could mean for the ‘Big Data’ in our brains. But how exactly can we hack the human brain and its potential to benefit millions of people? Similar to Musk’s latest project, Bryan Johnson, founder of Kernal is working on a way in which we can alleviate the effects of Dementia and Alzheimers amongst other neurological and degenerative diseases.
Talking recently in an interview about his company, he acknowledges that the degeneration of the body and the brain is ‘landlocked’ when it comes to the progression of HI in relation to AI. He states “this is a question of keeping humans front and centre as we progress”. Setting their sights on hacking the brain for medical applications, this type of technology will one day be able to improve human intelligence, health, and human-computer interaction.
Hacking the brain
Working with Kernal, Biomedical Engineer, and CSO, Theodore Berger has researched a neuroprosthetic, that implants into the hippocampus – the part of the brain associated with long-term memories and emotion. The neuroprosthetic aims to replicate signalling in the brain. It receives and sends electrical activity inputs and outputs to damaged parts of the brain, replacing damaged neurons. This activity would replace the computational functionality of the damaged parts of the brain; letting the cells and nervous system communicate in order to function properly.
There are, however, limitations when it comes to testing and the willingness of patients to have a brain implant. Complications also arise when it comes to our understanding of the human brain itself. Gathering large data sets on the functionality of the cognitive system will take years of research, not to mention a lot of financial investment. Johnson’s goals may be distant with many obstacles to overcome. But if neuroscience and AI technology are really the next space race, Kernal is certainly ahead of the curve. Augmentation of the human brain, significantly, memory, could mean one day we can access an archive of memories. Or perhaps, completely eradicate unwanted ones – think, ‘Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind’.
Not only could this radical biomedical technology aid memory loss and cognitive function, but it could also help stroke survivors with speech problems, or help those with severe brain injuries regain motor function, amongst many other conditions.
This innovative technology that Kernel and Neuralink are working on has the potential to dramatically improve millions of lives. Breakthroughs in areas like neuroprosthesis and enhancing human intelligence have the potential to accelerate scientific discovery. And not only in other aspects of healthcare, but also general AI, and the evolution of enhanced human intelligence.
