“New algorithm can translate thoughts into language: Implications for patients with brain injuries and paralysis”

Every day there is at least one novelty involving the use of Artificial Intelligence. The announcement of the time deals with a frightening achievement of technology: the ability to read minds. Its greatest application would be exactly helping patients with brain injuries and paralysis to communicate.

Read more: What scientists say about artificial intelligence is desperate

Although the information has become public, the skill is still in the early stages of development.

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The work was published in the scientific journal Nature Neuroscience. It’s about an algorithm built by computational neuroscientists at the University of Austin, Texas, that can translate thoughts into language. The action takes place from magnetic resonance imaging, that is, a piece of equipment that evaluates the parts of the brain most irrigated with blood through certain stimuli.

However, this does not mean that by performing a quick scan, doctors will have access to the patient’s thoughts. This is because, in order to be able to “read the minds” of the people who participated in the research, it was necessary to record their brain activity for 16 hours while they listened to podcasts from storytelling. In summary, it was through this experiment that the algorithm was able to associate each word with a respective brain region.

Finally, the experiment had a second stage in which the participants listened to episodes of podcasts who were not part of the initial training or even watched animations. In this way, from image learning and a GPT language technology, Artificial Intelligence decoded the patients’ ideas.

Results

The results achieved are surprising: the algorithm was able to associate language, as well as the ideas that passed in the minds of the participants. However, it is worth remembering that the technology is still very early. The tests took place with only three people, since it works in a limited way and with expensive equipment.

In any case, the study represents an evolution, since in previous research the reading of thoughts was only possible with invasive implants.

Now, the expectation is that the evolution of this technology can improve the quality of life of patients with conditions such as, for example, the locked-in syndrome, a state in which the person is conscious but unable to move.

On the other hand, the advancement of such technology also brings concerns from the inappropriate use of Artificial Intelligence. Finally, for its medical use, strict safety protocols will need to be developed to ensure responsible use.