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NEURAL IMPLANTS – THE FUTURE OF HUMAN MACHINE INTERFACES

Varun A

Information Security Management,

Fanshawe College

Professor Rosie Nanji

April 20th, 2021

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Table of Contents
1. Abstract .................................................................................................................... 2
2. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 3
3. History...................................................................................................................... 4
4. THE PROMISE OF INCORPORATING THE BRAIN ............................................................... 4
5. Economic Constraints.................................................................................................. 5
6. Ethical Concerns & Regulations..................................................................................... 6
7. Current Perception ..................................................................................................... 6
8. Conclusion................................................................................................................10
9. References ...............................................................................................................11

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1. ABSTRACT
Currently, we interact with all machines and computing devices with interfaces that are limited to
speech, the keyboard, and the mouse, or touch, all of which can only transmit a fraction of our thoughts
in a unit of time. New developments in the fields of neurology and electronics facilitated a direct brain-
machine interface via a small implant implanted in a subject. This research aims to provide regulatory
bodies with information about the public's perception of brain implants. Research work conducted by
other researchers and feedback from a limited pool of people across various age groups is used for this
research. Out of all the various forms of interfaces available neural implants are at the forefront in terms
of innovation and bandwidth capacity. Many organizations like DARPA and NASA are looking for an
opportunity to get these technologies to market to both improve the lives of people and reduce the
cost of these devices. However, like all technologies in the infancy stage, there are many concerns where
proper regulations must be formulated to measure the effectiveness and safety of these implants.

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2. INTRODUCTION
During our course of evolution from a single-celled microorganism to ever-complex thoughts of a
human brain, the rate of evolution has been slow and steady that stretches across several eons. It took
several decades for us earthlings to shift from hunter-gatherers to barbecuing meat. However, with the
advent of modern technology empowered by transistors the ability of humans to solve complex
problems increased by several folds at a very rapid and abrupt pace.

Due to the complexity and the advancements that are so rapid that we are limited by the capability
of humans to interface with machines. An average human can interface with machines at a rate of
hundreds of keystrokes or words per minute. There is a significant lag between the thought process that
happens in our brain and the output via speech or writing of keystrokes on a keyboard.

Neural implants are at the forefront of solving this problem by using an interface called the Brain-
Computer Interface. Neuralink is a company that focuses on this problem, which aims to develop brain
implants that are minimally invasive but gives the users to interface with machines in several bytes per
second. However, there are many concerns about this technology and the implications it has in our lives.
My research aims to provide insights into the perception of people and help regulators with making a
framework based on them.

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3. HISTORY
Interacting with devices is an integral part of our daily lives to perform critical options like controlling
a nuclear reactor to using a phone to check the time. The significance of electronic devices in our lives
makes interface design the most critical factor. The limiting factor is that the interface designs are based
on human capabilities to sense, analyze and respond to every interaction. The rate at which our brain
can process information is faster in several orders of magnitude. Not all humans have the same
capabilities to interact with the machines we use today, this is where the neural implants give a
promising hope. In earlier days of neuroscience developments, scientists found out that the brain works
by using electrical impulses to communicate with different parts of the body. Electronic sensors which
are incredibly accurate and sensitive can be used to read these electrical impulses and analyze them.
An algorithmic approach to read these signals gave rise to behavioral prediction is possible with these
implants. With the increase in the growth of technology in AI and Machine Learning in the
semiconductor industry, the ability to utilize these devices is limited mostly by the interfaces and the
ability of our brains to process that information. Since modern humans have evolved into homo sapiens,
we transitioned from hunter-gathers to decision-makers and strategic thinkers by using tools. We in a
time where we need to evolve that rapidly to keep up with the current pace of technology
improvements.

4. THE PROMISE OF INCORPORATING THE BRAIN

The human mind is exceptionally versatile specifically, which empowers a wide assortment of
human abilities like getting the hang of, acclimating to new undertakings and conditions, and in any
event, beating numerous sorts of injury. Seeing how the human mind adjusts and the following neural
transformation online might be valuable for utilizing this inborn human capacity to create novel ways
to deal with preparing, schooling, and restoration. As human sensory system cycles and stores, data in
ways that are entirely different from the current PC frameworks with which they collaborate, these bits
of knowledge into cerebral capacity may even influence origins concerning when and wherein the
general framework plan human–PC cooperation ought to happen. In any case, recognition of this
potential will be contingent on the ability to consistently remove precise, high-goal lists of neural
handling.

The devices used for BMI can be classified into two categories, invasive and non-invasive depending
on how they are connected to the brain. BMIs are nothing new. The cochlear implant, invented in 1961,
was one of the first simple brain machines. Deep brain stimulation, a surgical procedure in which a hair-
thin electrode wire is implanted in the part of the brain responsible for abnormal movement, is used to
treat diseases such as Parkinson's and epilepsy. Modern Devices can however read the brainwaves via

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changes in magnetic fields and process, the information without the need to perform a surgical
procedure to directly interface a device to the neural synapses of the brain.

Current advancements in nanotechnology and material physics allow researchers to develop

biocompatible and minimally invasive BMI’s that can be wired to a brain and can be used in bundles
that can have the bandwidth in several orders of magnitudes higher than traditional methods. In 2013,
at that point, President Barak Obama reported $100 million in financing for the Brain Research through
Advancing Innovative Neurotechnology (BRAIN) activity to assist neuroscientists with understanding the
birthplaces of cognizance, discernment, and other cerebrum exercises. As a component of its main goal,
the BRAIN activity will create and convey neural technology to an additional network of the connections
between cerebrum capacity and conduct.

This provoked government offices like the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to
get included, with the development of the Neural Engineering System Design (NESD) program to
improve research abilities in neurotechnology and give an interface to new treatments. So, it would not
have been long until BCI started accepting more prominent business considerations from any semblance
of extremely rich person businessmen like Elon Musk and Bryan Johnson. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, and
SpaceX is supporting Neuralink, a BCI dare to make gadgets that can be embedded in human cerebrums
to ultimately improve memory and interface with PC frameworks.

As of now, frameworks taking into consideration signaling and voice input have made new and
natural ways for individuals to communicate with PCs without the requirement for the more customary
mix of consoles and mice Brain-PC frameworks drive this above and beyond, with the objective of more
straightforwardly utilizing the mind to pass on our aims, as opposed to having an extra, actual advance
interpreting those expectations to text, discourse, or motions. Innovative enhancements have likewise
prompted progressed algorithmic ways to deal with dissecting and deciphering cerebrum information
accumulated under loud, true conditions, empowering a blast of BCI examination and innovation
advancement even to the mark of the commercialization of the first neural-based toys, for example, the
Star Wars Force Trainer by Uncle Milton or the Mindflex by Mattel.

5. ECONOMIC CONSTRAINTS
There are many real-world examples of startup companies that do incredible work in their
respective field of technology and would change the way humans live and fail in the long run because
their products are not economically viable. Most of the breakthrough technologies are developed in
university labs where their research is funded by grants. However, to be commercially viable companies
tend to make their products costly or take the help of government incentives to have any meaningful
presence in the market. Thus, governments place restrictions to protect their investments. This leaves

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a huge gap in the uptake of technologies in the communities and countries that are unprivileged and
underdeveloped where it is often needed the most. If deemed to have a defense interest to the country
(for example SpaceX) companies are not allowed to hire people except for that citizens and are not
allowed to conduct business in other countries. Since the technologies are in development and mostly
laser-focused on helping differently-abled people, coincidentally they are the community that is mostly
on the lower end of the income spectrum in both rich and poor countries.

6. ETHICAL CONCERNS & REGULATIONS

The modern utilization of the expression "Morals", particularly in a First world setting, mirrors most
lawful, good, and strict standards and feelings inside a local area of pluralistic popularity-based social
orders. It incorporates not just standards of what is lawfully or ethically taboo—particularly moral
consent is, obviously, much of the time disputable—yet also, the obligation not to hazard the benefits
which might be accomplished by innovative advancement. Before another clinical item or technique is
offered to patients consistently clinical exploration is needed to assess its wellbeing and adequacy. For
brain implants, the accompanying three issues are critical to consider.

a) What regulatory frameworks are in place for brain-machine interfaces?

b) How safe are they for patients that undergo implants in the clinical trials?
c) Are the researchers able to get informed consent from patients that have neurological
problems?

Since these technologies cover a whole lot of different areas other than simple BMI’s like cochlear
implants, they need new regulations and audits that provide regulatory controls and frameworks to
safeguard the privacy of individuals. Regulations should address the following questions

i. Can a company ready my data and send it to its servers for “analysis”?
ii. How would companies classify data as private and public when the data in question is a person’s
thoughts?
iii. How secure are these devices, what is the aftermath if there is a hardware vulnerability in
hardware?
iv. Can a company access diagnostic data and logs to remove bugs without my consent?

7. CURRENT PERCEPTION
The current perception of these implants among the general population is studied using a sample
size of 20 individuals by sharing a weblink to a voluntary survey in social media.

https://forms.gle/gD8em7TjKHgvkweF7

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The following were the conclusions from that survey when asked the following questions.

A)

Where (1) to (10) are based on a scale that varies from (I will never have it) to (I will live with
it). One out of every four people rejected the idea of possibly having an implant, while only 5 percent
of people responded that they are likely to get an implant if the need arises.

B)

Eight out of ten people believe that the control of the data collected by these devices should
rest with the individuals themselves while only one participant believes that the data can be handled by
a third-party company.

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C)

Approximately six out of every ten people believe law enforcement can access the data from
these implants.

D)

Approximately six out of every ten people believe that a brain implant would be as common as
a hearing aid in the next ten years.

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E)

Eighty percent of the respondents are from the age group of eighteen to twenty-nine years of age.

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8. CONCLUSION
There is a growing conception among researchers that the human brain has reached
the maximum rate of evolution and is beginning to get out of the exponential rise of cognition
ability. They also believe that the only way to keep evolving is by forming a symbiotic
relationship with Artificial Intelligence via implants placed in the human body. Even though it
sounds like a space odyssey, that looks like the imminent future. Governments and think tanks
should focus on facilitating the merger of humans with machines and start framing regulations
for it. The perception of brain implants is turning positive in recent years. The companies like
Neuralink should focus on educating people on the potential benefits of these devices.

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9. REFERENCES

Primary Research
1. Niforatos, E., Vourvopoulos, A., & Langheinrich, M. (2017). Amplifying human
cognition. Proceedings of the 2017 ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and
Ubiquitous Computing and Proceedings of the 2017 ACM International Symposium on
Wearable Computers. https://doi.org/10.1145/3123024.3129266
2. Lance, B. J., Kerick, S. E., Ries, A. J., Oie, K. S., & McDowell, K. (2012). Brain-Computer
Interface Technologies in the Coming Decades. Proceedings of the IEEE, 100(Special
Centennial Issue), 1585–1599. https://doi.org/10.1109/jproc.2012.2184830
3. Cole, H. L., Greenwood, J., & Sanchez, J. M. (2016). Why Doesn't Technology Flow From
Rich to Poor Countries? Econometrica, 84(4), 1477–1521.
https://doi.org/10.3982/ecta11150
4. Shein, E. (2017). Overcoming disabilities. Communications of the ACM, 60(11), 17–19.
https://doi.org/10.1145/3137838
5. Neumann, P. G. (2020). Risks to the Public. ACM SIGSOFT Software Engineering Notes, 45(4),
11–16. https://doi.org/10.1145/3417564.3417566
6. Bostrom, N., & Sandberg, A. (2009). Cognitive Enhancement: Methods, Ethics,
Regulatory Challenges. Science and Engineering Ethics, 15(3), 311–341.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-009-9142-5
7. Denning, T., Matsuoka, Y., & Kohno, T. (2009). Neurosecurity: security and privacy for
neural devices. Neurosurgical Focus, 27(1). https://doi.org/10.3171/2009.4.focus0985
8. Sandberg, A., & Savulescu, J. (2014). The Social and Economic Impacts of Cognitive
Enhancement. Enhancing Human Capacities, 92–112.
https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444393552.ch6
9. Merrill, N., Chuang, J., & Cheshire, C. (2019). Sensing is Believing. Proceedings of the
2019 on Designing Interactive Systems Conference.
https://doi.org/10.1145/3322276.3322286
10. Niederman, F., Kaarst-Brown, M., Quesenberry, J., & Weitzel, T. (2019). The Future of
IT Work. Proceedings of the 2019 on Computers and People Research Conference.
https://doi.org/10.1145/3322385.3322403

Secondary Research
1. https://neuralink.com/approach/
2. https://www.wired.com/story/neuralink-is-impressive-tech-wrapped-in-musk-hype/

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