Mar 13, 2008
Beyond The Jetsons: Voiceless Speech Becomes Real
Hat tip to Techno//Marketer's Matt Dickman for this video of an incredible technological advance that was unveiled last month.
The device actually intercepts your thoughts on the way to you vocal chords and translates them into speech.
As Marc Andreessen (the guy who invented Netscape) noted on his blog: "I have a feeling that someday, this may be up there with "Come here, Watson, I need you.""
The video above shows an actual phone conversation between two people, one of whom is equipped with a wireless neckband. He thinks his answers and they are spoken by a synthesized computer voice.
If that wasn't mind-blowing enough, another possible application for this is mentioned: expanding human intelligence. You're walking down the street. You wonder (to yourself) "where's the nearest bus stop?" A device translates your thoughts into words, searches the collective intelligence available on the internet and reports back to you with bus stop locations.
Yup.
PS: Further props to Matt Dickman for coining the phrase tradigitalist to accurately describe what it is I do for a living.
oh my goodness, now e have to stop thinking.
ReplyDeletewhat people think and what people say have never been the same.
@Tore: Welcome to The Toad Stool.
ReplyDeleteI thought of all the awful places that could go too. I assume you'll have to trigger it with some sort of password or something even more Lost In Space-y. You know "Access Device. Find bus stop."
Though the possibilities in a police interrogation are even more mindboggling.
Woah. Too bad this isn't far enough along for Stephen Hawking to use.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I share both of your concerns. Mind reading makes me nervous; I know what I think. ;)