Brain Technologies

Hamutal Meridor | @hamutalm

It all starts with a single neuron

But it’s complicated A human brain has: – 1011 neurons –  Each neuron connected to 10,000 others

(synapse) – 1014 - 1015 synapses

In 1*1*1 mm of cortex: – 100,000 neurons – 100 million synapses – 4 km of cables

Brain vs. Tech

Amazing biological vs. Exponential technologies machine

The Brain

•  Complex functions •  Robust •  Low energy consumption •  Adaptive •  Highly connected •  Parallel computing

Brain is better at “life” tasks

Trying to mimic brain function is expensive & hard: – Object recognition –  Language –  Self driving cars

Watson

25 people | 4 years | 90 servers 1M lines of code

BUT

•  We can tap into brain computing without having to imitate it

•  Machines can do things a human brain can’t

Neuro Prosthetics

•  Cochlear implants •  Artificial eyes – webcam vision •  Thought-powered limbs - BrainGate

Prosthetic mind-controlled legs

And a whole body suit

Stimulating the brain

•  TMS - Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation •  DBS - Deep Brain Stimulation

Samsung’s stroke detector

Alert for Epileptic Patients

Chip implant detects abnormal activity preceding epileptic seizure

From medicine to the future brain

Fixing sick people à augmenting healthy people

Mind & Tech Go Mainstream

•  Dropping costs •  BCI Kickstarter projects raise millions $$

Mindfulness

NeuroGaming

Pour Courtesy

Brain stimulation

Brain to Brain Communication

Mind Expansion

•  Memory chip: thought implantation in mice

•  6th sense: infra-red vision

Restoring Memory

Hippocampal chip fixes ability to remember in patients with Alzheimer’s – Rats & monkeys – Human trials

Top-Down

And Bottom-Up

Brainihack San Francisco!

5 min tutrioal

Hacking your brain

•  Erasing memories & implanting new ones •  Stealing memories & thoughts •  Cyber-security à mind-security

The Future