CrowdScience: Can A Machine Read My Mind?

For decades science fiction has been imagining the incredible ways that machines might interact directly with our minds, from enabling telepathic communication to controlling robotic suits, solely using the power of thought.

Getting computers to interface directly with the human brain has proven extremely challenging, but rapidly advancing computer technology is changing the landscape. CrowdScience listener Daniel wonders if we might finally be on the cusp of enabling machines to meld with our minds.

To find out, presenter Alex Lathbridge goes in search of the latest efforts to connect brains to computers. He learns how researchers are combining brain scans with machine learning and how this technology might be used to help people with serious medical conditions like locked-in syndrome. He discovers there are many hurdles to overcome along the way – for example, how can scientists develop implants that won’t damage the brain?

With tech companies like Facebook and Elon Musk’s Neuralink starting to invest in this sector, many experts believe it is only a matter of time before thoughts are ‘readable’. Whilst currently this technology is focussed on helping people with serious medical conditions, other potential applications for it are raising ethical considerations.

Could it be possible to read someone's mind against their will? Might this be used in warfare or the criminal justice system? Listener Daniel wonders whether one day hacking the human mind might even be possible, leading Alex to ask an ethicist what mind-reading technology might do to society.

• Produced by Melanie Brown for the BBC World Service.

Publicity contact: EB2