NEW GOOGLE TECHNOLOGY WILL READ MINDS
By Ben Radstein, Staff Reporter
Do you ever want to search for something, but aren't sure
how to put it into words? Do Google, Yahoo and Bing spit back off-topic junk
every time you try? Google thinks they will have a solution for this problem by
around 2015. Their system, if it works, will be able to directly interface the
human brain, so you don't have to put it into words. My source in Google's labs
did not give his real name, as he might be violating a non-disclosure agreement
just by talking to me, but a few drinks in a bar got him to do at least that.
"Wi-Fi is the key to the whole thing," said my source.
"We
got the idea from paranoid types who use tinfoil hats to keep the saucer people
from reading their minds, or sending them commands. It turns out that if we
simultaneously use the 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz bands, we can make a wireless
connection to the brain. This is easily done now that dual band Wi-Fi gear is
becoming common. We still are working on making sense of what we get from brain
signals, and sending messages that aren't just gibberish, but we are getting
there. We are calling the project Google Mind."
He went on to describe their goals in greater detail.
"People always have something that they would like to know but can't articulate.
Let's say you have an image of something in your mind that you saw once, and
wonder what it is. Google Mind will be able to see that image in your head, and
search for it. For example, that that wrinkly looking thing you saw at the Asian
grocery a few years ago was a bitter melon, and that it is used in Chinese and
Indian dishes. Maybe you have a melody in your mind, or really only a snippet of
it, and don't even remember the words. Google Mind can hear that song you have
stuck in your head, and tell you the title, artist and any music stores that
have it for sale. You won't have to struggle to gather your scattered thoughts.
In a few minutes, Google Mind will figure out what you are trying to figure out,
and give it to you. It will be amazing! We might not even have to stop at
humans. Google Mind may someday make it possible to really talk to our pets, and
understand them."
My source even told me that Sony is interested in
licensing Google's brain connection technology for future versions of
PlayStation. "Imagine telepathic gaming. You will not need a display, speakers
or a controller. The console will directly connect to your consciousness, and it
will all take place in your mind! You won't even have to wear a heavy, clumsy
virtual reality helmet. It would be like the Holodeck in Star Trek, and could be
anywhere!"
He made all of this sound like a good thing, but I see a
slippery slope. If Google can read our minds to help us search for things we
can't put into words, what else will they see? Who else will have access to the
data? If Sony can beam a game into our brains to entertain us, what else could
be beamed in? Will be be led around like dogs on leashes? Made to do terrible
things in the real world believing it is only a game?
If it becomes possible for the government
to read our minds, will we be arrested and locked up by the thought police when
we haven't even done anything? Will employers be able to monitor the minds of
employees? There would be no such thing as privacy, and corrupt bosses would be
able to stop whistleblowers in their tracks. I told the man I had been speaking
with about
my concerns, but he dismissed them. "We wouldn't be involved in that kind of
stuff! We're Google. Our motto is don't be evil." His assurances give me no
peace. I hope that this Google Mind project turns out to be unfeasible, and is
abandoned. I always have thoughts I do not care to share. I suspect we all do.
