Neural data – Impact Lab

By Futurist Thomas Frey

The Most Intimate Data You Never Consented to Share

Here’s a scenario that should terrify you: you’re wearing your fitness watch, scrolling through social media on your phone, maybe using VR goggles for a quick gaming session. Nothing unusual. Except every one of those devices is quietly collecting data about your brain activity, emotional state, stress levels, attention patterns, and cognitive load. And you have no idea it’s happening.

Welcome to the neural data revolution — the next frontier in privacy invasion that makes Facebook’s data collection look quaint by comparison.

We’re not talking about distant science fiction. Major tech companies are already embedding neural sensors into everyday devices. Meta’s AI glasses use electromyography sensors. Apple’s Vision Pro integrates eye-tracking with biometric sensors. Apple has patented EEG-enabled AirPods. Your smartwatch monitors heart rate variability that reveals your emotional states. Your fitness tracker knows when you’re stressed before you do.

The neurotechnology market is exploding — from $9.8 billion in 2022 to a projected $17.1 billion in 2026. Over one in five Americans already wear devices that continuously monitor physiological signals that can infer mental states. And almost none of them understand what they’ve consented to.

Researchers in US tracked the neural data from people while they were speaking

Reading minds has just come a step closer to reality: scientists have developed artificial intelligence that can turn brain activity into text.

While the system currently works on neural patterns detected while someone is speaking aloud, experts say it could eventually aid communication for patients who are unable to speak or type, such as those with locked in syndrome.

“We are not there yet but we think this could be the basis of a speech prosthesis,” said Dr Joseph Makin, co-author of the research from the University of California, San Francisco.

Continue reading… “Scientists develop AI that can turn brain activity into text”

Tag: Neural data

The Privacy Crisis Nobody Sees Coming: Why Your Thoughts Are the Next Data Goldmine

The Most Intimate Data You Never Consented to Share

Scientists develop AI that can turn brain activity into text