Facebook is creating technology that may use brain waves to read minds

Image Source: Business Insider.

Facebook’s hardware research division, Building 8, is creating “brain-computer interface” technology that may be able to let people read each other’s thoughts. According to Business Insider, Facebook’s Building 8 group, which has a mission of “building new hardware products to [connect] the world,” has mentioned an ongoing project including “electrophysiological data” that plans to enable communication methods meant for the future.

Revealed to the public in April 2016, Building 8 has goals that have been touched upon vaguely. “We’ll be investing hundreds of people and hundreds of millions of dollars into this effort over the next few years,” Mark Zuckerberg wrote at the time. “I’m excited to see breakthroughs on our 10-year roadmap in augmented and virtual reality, artificial intelligence, connectivity, and other important areas.”

Now, Building 8’s Facebook group has posted several job listings that point toward an advanced project that many see as being technology that’s similar to mind reading. One of the listings asks for a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) Engineer, whose responsibilities will include “developing advanced BCI technologies.” Although there isn’t any further detail about the job postings, the guesses about brain wave technology line up with comments made by Zuckerberg back in 2015.

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“One day, I believe we’ll be able to send full rich thoughts to each other directly using technology,” Zuckerberg remarked in an online Q & A session. “You’ll just be able to think of something and your friends will immediately be able to experience it, too, if you’d like.”

Producing this kind of technology is unprecedented, so there is a question of how Facebook will achieve the goal. Business Insider pointed out that other brands have attempted it in the past, promoting headbands equipped with sensors that can measure brain signals. The most well-known product that best fits Zuckerberg’s description of mind reading is Amazon’s Muse headband, which interprets whether a user wearing it is calm or active and then plays meditative noises based on the mood. However, the Muse doesn’t communicate this information to anyone else, which seems to be the unique factor that Facebook wants to include in its new technology.

While both Building 8 and Facebook remain tight-lipped about the project, the Building 8 group mentions “neuroimaging,” which uses methods like ultrasounds and X-rays to study the brain. Whenever this mind-reading tech hits the market, it will definitely involve a close study of how brain waves can be used for the better.

Sources: Business Insider, Francais Express, Facebook, Muse

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