I just saw this headline on an AP story: "Device taps brain waves to help paralyzed man communicate." It's about research going on at the University of California at San Francisco - and elsewhere, for sure. Some of the reporters - most? - who are covering this seem to think this is a totally new area of research and application of a brain/computer interface.
Well, if they actually looked into the background of what they are writing about, they might be more accurate and be able to put this development in context -- because, while there are exciting advances in brain/computer interfaces to help the paralyzed, to help those "locked in" communicate with the neural signals of their brains - this research has been going on since the l990s, at least. About twelve years or so ago, I witnessed an early success with a young "locked in" man "speaking" a few words in a lab via a brain implant and a computer.
But this technology is even more. It is part of the future of humankind which will not only help the paralyzed but will also be key in the creation of cyborgs, be used in space exploration and in other ways to augment the faculties and abilities of Earthlings...
I wrote about this - and interviewed many neuroscientists working in this field - well over a decade ago. If you'd like background, i found a link to the story. I'm posting a screen shot of the first page of the print version ( because the art is far better than the awful illustration on the Discover post of the story) . But here's a link for the whole thing,
if anyone is interested: https://www.discovermagazine.com/.../the-rise-of-the-cyborgs
[from 2021 :: Thanks Sherry Baker]