Imagine if you woke up on a Monday morning and realize you were unable to access your brain bank memory or function and go about your regular daily activity? Could you be experiencing symptoms of a brain hack? That could be the case as the Increase in incidence of brain disorders affecting the musculoskeletal functionality of the body and miniaturization of components as well as the rise in the number of gaming industries implementing BCI technology has fueled the sporadic growth in the “Brain-Computer Interface” investment market as global analysts have predicted the global brain-computer interface market is worth $1.36 Billion USD and is expected to hit $3.85Billion in 2027.
The rise in cybersecurity threats with the BCI system has curtailed the growth of this industry yet it is steadily on the rise as the awareness of the awesomeness of how the human brain can successfully interact with the computer has attained commendable levels of improvement. Artificial Intelligence, autonomous systems, and robotic also has gained popularity in the technology sector
Smart home technology invention and virtual gaming system, as well as prosthesis technology, has also seen a surge as more “Virtual Reality” games with users interacting in a real-life scenario without having to involve any physical exertion has also fostered the rapid development of technological giants into the advancing of BCI technology which in turn has also seen man send a robot to Mars, help with knee replacement surgeries complication or amputation caused from osteoporosis, spinal cord injury and Adrenomyeloneuropathy, a very rare condition that is life-threatening where the spinal cord experiences weakness and stiffness in the leg and it defies all medical treatment. This rare condition is uncharacteristically untreatable and has to be controlled with Anaphylactic shock which was deemed fatal but yet effective.
Research on BCI began in the 1970s at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) under a grant from the National Science Foundation, followed by a contract from DARPA. BCI also witnessed a remarkable achievement in 1998 and a significant development in the field of brain mapping when researcher, Philip Kennedy implanted the first brain-computer interface object into a human subject
The advent of BCI has also seen ‘Cyborg’ technology that connects the body to a machine, Neural chip implant and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprogramming) technology has also witnessed rapid growth. Eye-tracking software and EEG records brain activity with a transducer sending electromagnetic waves to certain parts of the brain where readings would be done.
Cognitive neuroscience has played a vital role in unraveling the structured patternation of the frontal cortex and cerebral lobes revealing synaptic and neural activities where every function of the over 80 billion cells and 100 million neurons in the human brain may seem unrealistic for man to replicate the exact function in a computer and is still very far from achieving anything close to this but with more research, it may narrow down the gap.
On the other hand, the invasiveness of the BCI technology with smart innovations granting unrestricted and unauthorized access could make man prone to infiltration increasing the risks of brain manipulation mostly when technology gets in the hands of a narcissistic megalomaniac, might be used detrimentally and this may pose a serious threat to life
What happens if the data from an ElectroEncephalogram is breached?
FDA Neuralink trial study safety
Human brain implant gets FDA permission faster in the US and this has witnessed implantation in animals like pigs, mice in their laboratory trial thesis as there is a very little restriction in getting authorization by the relevant federal research institute where the likes of Elon Musk’s Neuralink has received funding of $151 million since 2016, also Neurable, Emotiv, Bitbrain, and the likes have invested heavily in the health sector by improving the digital health industry carrying out surgeries with little or no human interaction.
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The advantages far outweigh the risks as it has always been the case of pros and cons in clinical trials with approval and patents having to pass through multiple rigors.
