How Close Are We To Cyberspace?

There are only a few links left between us and full immersive sensual cyberspace.

William Gibson coined the term Cyberspace as a near-future digital world we would mentally navigate.

Clearly, the mouse and keyboard are about to be assimilated by touch screens. Sky diving costs and increasing value dictate it.

Monitors, the last membrane between us and cyberspace dissolve as we navigate digital experience in the same way we do physical experience.
Thought recognition, (computing that translates thoughts into a real or virtual world action) is here and advancing fashionably below the radar.

The distinction between the virtual and the physical is only a matter of resolution. As we merge our minds directly with Cyberspace, a global mind will emerge from the network. (The power of a network increases exponentially according to the number of communication nodes). Coming soon: an emergent, distributed, networked, increasingly intelligent, global nervous system.

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Exoskeletons and Thought Recognition

Thought-controlled Exoskeletons are on the way. The technology already exists.

Rapidly evolving, sophisticated exoskeletons have arrived. My favorite is Sarcos exoskeleton. No need for a joystick or hand controls. You just wear it, and it mirrors your actions.

You can pump a couple hundred pounds, run, box, dance and carry heavy loads up stairs. It doubles as an autonomous robot. If it can't do so already, it would be a simple step to program it. While in the robotic suit, carry out a series of actions, save, then step out. Switch to autonomous mode and the robot will repeat what you have taught it.

Like all computer tech, these suits will continually drop in price and become ever more sophisticated. Soon they'll park in the garage next to the car or maybe take up a corner in the living room waiting for intruders.

But here's the obvious next step: This technology is also primed to make the link between thought and superhuman abilities.

Thought Recognition

Thought recognition systems directly translate brain signals into action. Eric Ramsay, a man completely paralyzed except for his eyes is translating his thoughts into speech, a monkey's leg movement brain signals control a robot across the planet, and another monkey mentally controls a robotic arm to feed itself.

As exoskeletons fluidly respond to thought, paralysed, speechless people will walk, talk and navigate. Exoskeletons will spill from military applications to industry and then to consumers to become superhuman extensions of our bodies.

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As Speech Recognition Software Morphs Into Thought Recognition

Since 1999, Eric Ramsay has been paralyzed and only able to move his eyes. Otherwise he's completely conscious. But a new computer/ brain interface reads his brain signals as he thinks about vocal sounds, translating them in real time. The goal is conversation, by making it possible for him to literally think out loud. This pioneering development has interesting implications for texting, search engines and much more.

Some Blue Sky Thinking...

Computer technology that translates thoughts into spoken words would also be able to turn them directly into text. That's what speech recognition software already does. So Eric Ramsay may soon be searching Google and surfing the web. It means he may soon be texting his friends and family. Making new friends and maybe show up on Twitter.

[April 22 2009 Update: Adam Wilson made history, posting to Twitter just by thinking about it.]

As electrodes give way to a skull cap, things like wireless searching, texting, messaging, Twitter, Facebook etc., could become a thumbless, mental exchange. I can hardly wait for the 'Blue-Toothers' to discover this. I mean it's freaky to watch someone striding down a street, or sitting alone at a table having a conversation with the ether. (Chuckle at this short video.)

Reverse the process and imagine computer text translated directly into your unique brain signals and show up as your own thoughts. 'These opinions are yours. You cannot imagine why you ever felt otherwise...'

Is there an ethicist in the house? Who said that?

More on thought controlled technology here:

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Google News (not much as of March 2009, but worth checking over time)