Designer Babies
Xenobots, which were first brought to life back in January, can’t reproduce. Instead, computer scientists program them in a virtual environment and then 3D print their creations out of embryonic cells.
“We are witnessing almost the birth of a new discipline of synthetic organisms,” Columbia University roboticist Hod Lipson, who was not part of the research team, told the NYT. “I don’t know if that’s robotics, or zoology or something else.”
Given the rapid development of virtual reality technology, we may very well be moving toward a time when we’re able to manage the brain’s memories.
Could we develop a similar capability? That may depend heavily upon a handful of ambitious attempts at brain-computer interfacing. But science is moving in baby steps with other tactics in both laboratory animals and humans.
Thus far, there have been some notable achievements in rodent experiments, that haven’t done so well with humans. We don’t have a beam that can go into your mind and give you 60 years worth of new experiences. Nevertheless, the emerging picture is that the physical basis of memory is understandable to the point that we should be able to intervene — both in producing and eliminating specific memories.
At MIT’s Center for Neural Circuit Genetics, for example, scientists have modified memories in mice using an optogenetic interface. This technology involves genetic modification of tissues, in this case within the brain, to express proteins that respond to light. Triggered by implants that deliver laser beams, brain cells can be triggered to be more or less active. In research that has been published in the prestigious journal Nature, the MIT team used the approach in specific brain circuits important to memory consolidation. The researchers were able to enhance the development of negative memories — for instance a shock given to an animal’s leg — and also to convert those negative memories into positive memories. The latter was achieved by letting male mice enjoy some time with females, while nerve cells that usually deliver the negative impulses associated with the former shock were stimulated through the optogenetic interface.
Think we’re far off from The Matrix? Gabe Newell says you should think again.
In a rare interview with IGN ahead of next week’s release of Half-Life: Alyx, Newell reasoned that more advanced forms of VR might not be too far out. “We’re way closer to The Matrix than people realize,” he stated. “It’s not going to be ‘The Matrix’, The Matrix is a movie and it misses all the interesting technical subtleties and just how weird the post-brain-computer interface world is going to be. But it’s going to have a huge impact on the kinds of experiences that we can create for people.”
Hi all! I hope you’re doing well and staying healthy! As a hobby, I have begun a futurist YouTube channel. I have just uploaded a video on why I personally believe that there may be an exodus to virtual reality in the future. Please take a look at it and subscribe and like it if you enjoyed the video!
Virtual reality is oftentimes the ultimate promise of science-fiction. Leaving behind the boring real-world for an exciting world that operates outside the bounds of reality is something that is promised to us by sci-fi. But does that mean that a large number of people would be willing to do that forever? Here’s why I believe they would.
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Brain Computer Interface (BCI)
Brain-computer interface (BCI) is a technology that agree to communicate between a human-brain with an external technology. The term can be referred to an interface that takes signals from the brain to an external piece of hardware that sends signals to the brain. There are different brain-computer interface technologies developed, through different methods and for diversified purposes, including in virtual reality technology.
Benefits of Brain Computer Interface
Despite BCI being in its initial stage of development, it is expected to provide several benefits to its users in various fields. Some of the major benefits of BCI are as follows:
Do you àgree?
In Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler’s new book, The Future Is Faster Than You Think, the futurist and science writer talk about converge and how a host of technologies, including VR, quantum computing, and A.I., are speeding up development of flying cars and changing new and old industries.
Of interest here?
The coauthors of the seminal book The Virtual Corporation describe how the rise of artificial intelligence and virtual environments are ushering in an epic cultural transformation—and how we can thrive in this new era.
Via Virtual Reality, Mother Encounters Deceased Daughter ‘But that barrier was going to melt away someday soon. The transhumanists had promised…’ — Stephen Baxter, 2008.
BabyX AI Real Enough For You ‘…what’s to keep me from showing face, Man? I’m showing a voice this instant… I can show a face the same way.’ — Robert Heinlein, 1966.
Someday, You Might Like VR Enough To Move In ‘That barrier was going to melt away someday soon. The transhumanists had promised…’ — Stephen Baxter, 2008.
Mother-meets-recreation-of-deceased-child-in-vr.
South Korean TV broadcaster MBC recently aired a Korean language documentary that centers on a family’s loss of their young daughter, seven-year-old Nayeon. Using the power of photogrammetry, motion capture, and virtual reality, the team recreated Nayeon for one last goodbye with the family’s mother, Ji-sung.
I am amazed by just how far technology has come!
An image of her daughter was created with ‘virtual reality’ for a mother who lost her daughter in 2016 in South Korea. The moment the mother met her daughter left those in the studio in tears.
In 2016, the 7-year-old daughter of a woman named Jang Ji-sung, Nayeon, died after an illness.
A firm that does’ Virtual Reality ‘Projects has created an image of the girl who died, as a result of an 8-month study. The firm, which also created a virtual reality of a park where the mother and daughter had gone before, invited the family into the studio. The mother, who arrived at the studio, was given a virtual reality goggle, while her husband and another daughter, along with the technical team, watched the process in the audience section.
