Computer thinking human thinking

Intel has successfully built a computer that can read words that people think in the brain, so we can write letters or search information online without having to move our hands

Illustration. Source: ALAMY

Scientists have invented a number of computers that we can control with the brain. When using them humans must imagine movements to control the cursor on the screen.

According to the Telegraph , Intel's mind-reading computer is more special in that it has the ability to "understand" the words people think in their heads. Intel experts are mapping in detail about brain activity for each word. They then compared the map to the activity of the computer user brain. The comparison results allow the computer to identify words that users think of.

Dean Pomerleau, a senior researcher at Intel, says devices that are capable of getting enough information about brain activity are now quite large in size. In fact, they are expensive magnetic resonance imaging devices, like magnetic resonance imaging devices in hospitals. So Intel experts are trying to make smaller devices that users can wear like headsets.

Thinking calculator uses a sample of 20 questions to filter out words that people think. For example, a shovel is a noun related to physical action. We use shovels to dig. When people think of shovels, the cortex that controls physical activity will work. However, when we think of a word related to food like an apple, brain areas that control hunger will work. Computers can deduce attributes related to each word. Based on these properties, the machine will quickly 'localize' the scope of the search to determine the word that people think.

'We are defining brain activity when a normal person thinks of many different words. That means you can write letters, open emails or search for information by thinking of words in your head , "said Pomerleau.

Intel has produced a computer model capable of detecting simple words such as house and barn by analyzing about 20,000 locations on the brain. But because brain scanning technology is becoming more advanced, the computer's ability to read thoughts will improve in the future.