Comments on: Mind-Reading Computer Takes Images Straight out of Your Brain

By: soccerfan

soccerfan — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 04:14:12 +0000

Is all this device doing taking the signals traveling through the visual pathway and attempting to reproduce the image from the signals? That's what it looks like- it's not anywhere near reading thought if that's the case.

By: Neatoramawontsendmeapassword

Neatoramawontsendmeapassword — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 03:13:19 +0000

Huge potential for abuse.

By: cosmicdebris

cosmicdebris — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 20:59:20 +0000

I'm not too worried about people seeing my thoughts. It would be like a porno but with more candy and baseball bats.

By: robert-hocker

robert-hocker — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 19:22:49 +0000

the device created is no really big deal.it utilizes image processing exclusively;however,that is only necessary for new image exposure recording.
there have been telepathic guided airplanes,cia programs,and brainwave frequency correlations to images in the early 1960's and prior.
hopefully,this device will work well also;but,it should be analyzed for image capture.the brainwaves do not generate images;but,instead,create waveforms that represent those images.
only the frontal lobe of the brain generates quasi-images.

By: The Dude

The Dude — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 05:09:58 +0000

Now no need of describing my dirt fantasies. My girl can just see them herself.

By: GaryD

GaryD — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 20:34:33 +0000

Interesting, but I don't think it's quite what they make it out to be. They are using what comes into the eyes via the retina and then noting certain responses in the brain from each image. They then correlate the certain brain response elicited for each image. Note that this correlation had to be generated for each person. So, one persons brain response to the image was different than an others response. There really was no image re-construction at all. Merely matching a *specific* persons brain responses to an image - and each persons response was different. It's kind a like reading a persons body language I guess. Only in this case, each persons brain responded differently to the image.. So it's not even as general as body language reading. It's quite a stretch to go from this data to saying actual images from persons mind can be read in detail and images re-constructed.

By: foadiaf

foadiaf — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 19:02:45 +0000

First off, different areas of the brain activate differently for true and false recognition of stimuli. That being said, dreams would probably fall into this same arena.

Fox, Wisp isn't necessarily incorrect. We do use schemas for a lot of our cognition and attention. However, limiting it to just schemas is wrong considering he neglects the phonological loop, the visiospatial sketchpad, and the central executive as proposed by Baddeley.

fedorajones is on the right track. If you factor in individual differences (we all wire up slightly different), it is doubtful that you will have your thoughts or dreams read anytime soon.

As for the paper itself, I reserve comments until I actually read the paper.

By: fedorajones

fedorajones — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 13:47:56 +0000

It's interesting research, but it's far from reading thoughts, so everyone can put their tinfoil hats away. The researchers showed random letters to subjects and recorded the fMRI signal that occured after each presentation. They trained a neural network with the data, then fed it results from other random trials. The part of the brain they focused on, primary visual cortex (V1), works well for this because there is a direct mapping between where light hits on the retina and which area of cortex is activated (check out the retinotopic map). Thus, it makes sense that you could easily go from V1 activation to retinal activation to original image.

Other areas of the brain, even other areas of the visual cortex (such as those that process motion, color, and other aspects of an image), are not laid out as nicely, so dreams and other imagined imagery are safe from this technique. The real news seems to be that they were able to get enough of a signal difference via fMRI in order to decode V1 information.

By: Anon Ymous

Anon Ymous — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 03:39:19 +0000

“mind rape” about sums up my feelings of this. It is fascinating, but I don't trust anyone in this world anymore. Wish I could...

By: Ilia

Ilia — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 11:33:05 +0000

For all those saying that we can now have artificial eyes.. we already HAVE artificial eyes that allow blind people to see for quite a few years now. You guys are way behind..

By: Fox

Fox — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 02:44:16 +0000

Wisp, They tried using a bit map on a blind guy, and guess what: He could see in the same pattern that they were showing on the computer. The visual cortex sees images through brain signals in a grid like fashion. You can actually poke different parts of the brain with electricity and you will see it in different parts of your vision. By the way some people do think in words, my brother does. He has a very hard time visualizing things. I think in pictures and can rotate a 3d image in my head accurately.

So do us a favor, before you say something is impossible do some research so you don't sound like a moron to those that actually know the field of study.

By: sillysam

sillysam — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 01:54:09 +0000

I want my Dream Machine.

By: Weird

Weird — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 00:51:51 +0000

According to the image, the electrodes reside in the vision related brain region. For instance, it is common that people can become blind, possibly permanently, if they get a hard blow to the back of the head. It can happen even, if people fall on their back and hit their head to a sidewalk edge or something.

So, the point is taht it might be that they do not have access to thoughst, but just the images that the person looks at.

By: Evan

Evan — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 19:36:07 +0000

Major shenanigans. Proof please, else just bogus codswallop.

By: wisp

wisp — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 01:27:04 +0000

Jaxx:

Dreams into IMAGES = Never gonna happen. Not now, not ever.

I didn't say dream reading would be impossible. But the output would be very hard to understand (it would be a difficult art), and certainly NOT IMAGES! NEVER!!!

Linking brains together would be much easier than this nonsense.

PD: Notice how i spelled/spelt your nick right?

By: ...

... — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 20:55:27 +0000

Whaaaaaaat?!

I'm leaning towards Jess's comment - current popular research notwithstanding.

By: Anon

Anon — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 19:03:04 +0000

Personally I kinda always wished I could show other people my dreams. Its a sad waste, that I'm the only one seeing them really. They're so... elaborate, detailed, and fantastical. Every morning they just slowly fade away and become harder to remember. I swear I could have a dream that would reveal the meaning of the universe, and I'd wake up just as I do everyday and forget about it all, and go make coffee.

By: DOJ

DOJ — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 12:22:57 +0000

While there's some cool applications, I'd prefer the Big Brother Can 'O Worms to remain unopened.

By: rocko

rocko — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 08:22:23 +0000

the brain works on electric impulses. if the waves ,or frequency, lengths can be measured and set why not!

By: Mouserz

Mouserz — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 23:50:02 +0000

Dear god! I don't want anyone to be able to see what I'm thinking!

By: liphttam1

liphttam1 — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 23:42:16 +0000

No just no!! I realy hope this never happens. My brain is the only thing I get to keep secret!! I LOVES IT!!

By: MarcBee

MarcBee — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 22:01:20 +0000

if they need test subjects,
i volunteer

By: nicleT

nicleT — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 20:42:35 +0000

Is that my G4 Sawtooth tower over there???

By: Jaxx

Jaxx — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 20:38:45 +0000

@whisp
Never say never, did the movie Fivel teach you nothing?

Dream reading may be millenia away but I can actually believe they found a way to decode some simple data from the visual cortex that is pre-conversion.

Dreaming permits each and every one of us to be quietly and safely insane every night of our lives. -- William Dement

By: George Orwell

George Orwell — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 20:07:32 +0000

Here come the Thought Police...

By: wisp

wisp — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 19:46:34 +0000

A complete nonsense.

We don't dream with images (and we don't think with words).

Dreams are encoded.

You think you dreamed about a very detailed tree.

What actually went on was: set: "tree"; value=detailed; resemblance: "tree from the front of my house when i had 8 years old"... And so on.

And even the coding is encoded. And each person has a series of layers of subtle unique encoding.

Sorry, but this will NEVER be possible.

By: Rocky Rook

Rocky Rook — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 19:02:31 +0000

This is amazing. Like I said before, I knew stuff like this was eventually going to happen ... even in my lifetime. But what suprises me is that it is happening so early in my lifetime.

By: yo

yo — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:43:00 +0000

The entire movie Until the End of the World was built around a guy who made such a machine.

By: thirdtruck

thirdtruck — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:40:02 +0000

I'm really forward to honest-to-goodness X-ray vision, not to mention infrared and ultraviolet.

By: mother theresa

mother theresa — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:12:27 +0000

If it's for real and can be greatly refined, then it might be useful
for determining what if anything a comatose patient or "vegetative"
individual is "thinking" in terms of generating images if they are able to do so.