Reality is increasingly blurring with science fiction, and one of the most striking areas is "brain reading." A 168-page essay by Saturnin Pugnet, titled "Phase Lock", is causing a stir in AI circles. It argues that brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are advancing at remarkable speed and could one day allow humans to upgrade their "software". BCI devices are already used to treat Parkinson's disease and enable paralysed patients to operate computers, and Pugnet suggests they could eventually give humans cognitive superpowers.
Pugnet acknowledges the risks. "If we were not in a world of accelerating AI, I would want to slow down neurotechnology. The risks are too high," he tells the Financial Times. Yet he argues that in a world of accelerating AI, using neurotechnology to align AI models with human interests could be enormously beneficial. His thesis reflects the Silicon Valley view that superintelligent AI will eventually outsmart humans, so humans must be sped up to remain relevant. Elon Musk's Neuralink, launched in 2016, followed similar reasoning, with Musk arguing that humans must merge with digital intelligence to increase their "bandwidth".
Advances in AI are fuelling investment. Venture funding for neurotechnology more than doubled from $2.3bn in 2024 to $4.8bn last year. Pugnet believes neurotechnology can benefit from the same scaling laws that helped large language models over the past decade, with AI models potentially recognising patterns in brain activity given enough data and computing power.
Invasive BCI technology has so far been used only in medicine. A recent Nature Medicine article described a paralysed 45-year-old man who composed 183,060 sentences over two years, at an average of 56 words per minute. Non-invasive brain-imaging is also advancing, with the British start-up Cerca Magnetics receiving £7mn in government funding to install brain-scanning services at two NHS hospitals to help treat epilepsy. Cerca chair Matt Brookes says, "This is not all complete sci-fi."
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing