Scientists Create First Memory Expansion for Brain

[Jaepheth]

It'll be interesting to see what happens if you hook people up wirelessly to the same memory module.

 

[zinfamous]

Potential awesomeness:

You and your significant other have chips plugged in, have awesome sex, then switch chips to experience each others' afterglow. :awe:

Potential horror:

Memory chips become popular, people get addicted to them since once you remove them you're left feeling "lost", and "actors" who are hired to record their memories for retail end up leaking hidden thoughts and feelings onto the recording, so eventually you end up with thought pollution. Imagine a new popular chip series having background schizophrenia accidentally saved to it.

space-man already posted it, but this is what you're describing:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113481/

 

[BoredWork]

so what happens when teh first person get a virus on that chip?

 

[SMOGZINN]

I'm interested to know how you would be able to identify that "yes, this memory is being stored to chip"

Even if it is something you have to set up before hand, like turning on a video camera, it would be very useful. Well, maybe. Mattering on how playback works. Do you just 'know' the information when the chip is in, or do you have to access it in real time, requiring mental effort? If it needs to be accessed it might not be much different then reading the book again. In that case the technology has very limited uses, probably limited to recordation of important events and perhaps entertainment.

I'm especially interested to see what happens when you do swap chips. Do the memories just get overwritten? or does your mind try to interpret them? Perhaps it will just give you a memory of the craziest drug trip you've never experienced.

You mean if they are one brain only? Personally, I doubt that they would be 'one brain only' devices, the human brain is amazing at code breaking. I think it would be like learning a new language, it would take some time, but eventually you would start to make sense of it.

. It would be amazing to see what we could store and what that data looks like when plugged into a computer. Heck, this does potentially open the gateway for absolute "brain->computer" interfaces. If they get to the point where they can transfer data to the brain, The first thing I'm doing is downloading the wikipedia .

The human brains stores information in a chemical medium more then an electrical one. So I don't know if a computer could read it. If so, I would imagine it would look like a giant database with almost every bit of data correlating to every other bit.

8 year degrees will become a $250,000 purchase and you get it instantly. You'll have 18 year olds performing advanced surgery.

Knowing information is not the same as having a skill. Knowing where all the organs are would not be the same as having the skill to cut someone open and remove a tumor. That takes practice. There would be certain fields that a technology like this could make obsolete altogether, others would be almost completely untouched. The playing guitar example is an apt one, knowing how to hit all the cords is not the same as being able to play a song. Otherwise anyone that knew how to read sheet music and could watch a youtube video would be Stevie Ray Vaughan.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Knowing information is not the same as having a skill. Knowing where all the organs are would not be the same as having the skill to cut someone open and remove a tumor. That takes practice.

If I understand the technology this would allow people to access information quickly. That's entirely awesome, but it does not replace the mechanism of association and reasoning of the host mind. This is not a replacement or augmentation of consciousness, although accessing data would make learning easier.

Beyond the benefits, what would happen in the case of drive failure? I'd think it would be an incredibly disorienting and perhaps emotionally crippling event. A society of data addicts?

Always a cloud around that silver lining

 

[Beev]

Oh man, I just thought about how this could advance robots tremendously. It could make writing complex AI relatively easy. Or rather, the technology is at least a good step towards that.

 

[Jaepheth]

The Warrior's bland acronym, MMI, obscures the true horror of this monstrosity. Its inventors promise a new era of genius, but meanwhile unscrupulous power brokers use its forcible installation to violate the sanctity of unwilling human minds. They are creating their own private army of demons.

* Commissioner Pravin Lal, "Report on Human Rights"

 

[Jeff7]

If I understand the technology this would allow people to access information quickly. That's entirely awesome, but it does not replace the mechanism of association and reasoning of the host mind. This is not a replacement or augmentation of consciousness, although accessing data would make learning easier.

Though that would be nice. We've got some significant limitations when it comes to holding various ideas or objects in working memory at the same time. Also a fun option: Multiple concurrent streams of consciousness.
The next thing is going to be genetic engineering to make the top of the skull flat, so it can accommodate a heatsink.

Beyond the benefits, what would happen in the case of drive failure? I'd think it would be an incredibly disorienting and perhaps emotionally crippling event. A society of data addicts?

Always a cloud around that silver lining

Not much different than how things are now with technology. Internet goes out - mild withdrawal symptoms. Power goes out - huddle in a dark corner and await the sweet embrace of death.

 

[insect9]

I'd really hate to brick my brain...

 

[Punter]

Resistance is futile.

 

[Jeff7]

I'd really hate to brick my brain...

That's why you should always have a recent backup.

 

[Cogman]

I'd really hate to brick my brain...

Welcome to the new iBrain. Now you too can be an Apple Zealot!

 

[JJ650]

We will add your own distinctness to our own...

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

I have a hard time believing this but then again I can't believe plenty of shit technology does these days.

The only problem with Alzheimer patients would be that they already lost their memories but this would be nice to let them start again. Shit is crazy.

Alzheimer doesn't destroy your memories. IT just makes it hard to recall. My Grandmother suffered from it for years, but right before she died, she was able to recall memories of her 2 children.

 

[her209]

If this is true where they can insert knowledge into the brain, then the reverse is also true and they can extract knowledge out of your brain.

:hmm:

 

[Duder1no]

bump

 

[SunnyD]

bump

Why?

Now the logical progression is to add in wireless capability and have it programmable on the fly. Of course do that, and you may as well make it a "controller" as well. Imagine what you'd be "suggested to do subconsciously" by someone with less than ideal morals.

 

[Kadarin]

The team's experiments—which have been in a paper called "A Cortical Neural Prosthesis for Restoring and Enhancing Memory"—could lead to the development of devices that may help people affected by Alzheimer's disease, stroke or other brain injuries. In fact, they are already working on the next step: Reproduce the same result in monkeys.

This is potentially extremely awesome stuff. Not just because it can possibly help people lead normal lives, but because also it has the promise of allowing normal people to lead exceptional lives.

 

[dank69]

How soon before they can load me up with the memory of nailing Natalie Portman?

 

[Duder1no]

Why?

thought it was related to a new locked thread: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2180519