In an unprecedented breakthrough in artificial intelligence (AI), researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have engineered a “semantic decoder” that can interpret a person’s thoughts into readable language without the necessity of a surgery or any special implant. This groundbreaking device uses the same technology as ChatGPT and Google’s Bard, and it holds the potential to revolutionize communication for non-verbal stroke patients.
The process for using the decoder includes a person listening to podcasts under an fMRI scanner, then responding by speaking or imaging stories. The machine, with the help of brain activity monitoring, generates language that accurately reflects the sentiment of what is being said or thought. Although the AI technology has not been trained to convert words one-for-one, it shows near-spot accuracy in capturing the essence of someone’s thoughts nearly 50 percent of the time. In one of the trials, for instance, a listener was able to understand the phrase “I don’t have my driver’s license yet” was translated as “she has not even started to learn how to drive yet.”
The development of such technology could be used for malicious reasons and the researchers have taken the necessary steps towards protecting the privacy of individuals. They are committed to making sure people only use these techs if they find it useful and with their consent. With that, the group has proposed a set of regulations and guidelines to ensure this technology is used responsibly.
At its core, the invention of this revolutionary device hopes to ultimately aid non-verbal people in communicating with the outside world. Such technology is still in its early stages therefore more work is necessary before it can reach its full potential. To develop and refine this device, the team of researchers at the University of Texas Austin is currently dedicating their time and effort to unlocking its full potential.
Created by Geoffrey Hinton, a computer scientist and one of the leading minds of AI, the creation of such a “semantic decoder” is a giant leap forward for our understanding of human communication. With the development of ChatGPT and Google’s Bard being fundamental in creating this device, the future of communication technologies is looking ever brighter.
