Brain Computer Interfaces

How Far Should We Go?

Brain-Computer Interfaces, or BCIs are an emerging technology that connects a person’s brain to a computer. Although most are still in the developmental stage, the few successfully implemented BCIs and their studies give a taste of what’s to come. With our increasing understanding of how the brain works and the improvement of various technologies that interact with it, what used to be science fiction is now becoming more and more real. Knowing this, it is important, especially as Catholics, to: understand ourselves as God’s creation, how BCIs interact with the brain, and what that means for us as God’s creation.

Full Doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xY9NMZZYlK3dsTkC1RfXttqwPkgoP198RlxeUMDzS9Y/edit?usp=sharing

Quick History

1924- First EEG made by Hans Berger

1961- Cochlear Implant invented

1968- First MEG made by David Cohen

1973- UCLA actually coins the term BCI

1976- UCLA demonstrates that a cursor can be controlled using BCIs

1998- Phillip Kennedy implants a BCI into a person with locked-in syndrome that allowed them to control a cursor

2004- BCI implanted into Matt Nagle allows him to control a prosthetic arm

2016/2017- Kernel, Neuralink, Facebook, and the US Military announce their plans with BCIs

2018- UCal Berkeley invents neural dust

Taking a Look at BCIs and How They Work

In order to fully understand ourselves as God’s creation, as well as how BCIs work, we need to look at how the brain works on a physical level. From there, we can go on to understand how BCIs interact with the brain on a physical level to do what they do.

The Brain

The brain consists of over 86 billion cells called neurons that send signals to each other to communicate. Mental functions depend on communication, activations, and inhibitions of neurons.

How the Brain Works

BCI Tech

BCIs utilize a variety of sensors that can collect data about the waves the brain generates. It then can use a variety of algorithms to identify what those brain mean, and finally send it to another device to perform its function.

BCI Technology

Uses of BCIs

BCIs can have a variety of functions, from medical to non-medical. If it can be done on a phone or a computer, it can probably be done with a BCI. All the BCI has to do is learn how the user thinks, what waves are associated with what actions, and send commands to a device.

Uses and Hopes

Concerns and Church Teaching

Developing more advanced BCIs however does raise major concerns. There are questions of privacy, hacking, and social divide. The Church does not have explicit teachings about BCIs but do have many related teachings that will help us determine how far should we go.