Brain Enhancement - The Road to Superintelligence

TOMCAT T FUTUR I S T
BRAIN ENHANCEMENT
THE ROAD TO SUPERINTELLIGENCE

BRAIN ENHANCEMENT
RECENTLY ALL OVER THE NEWS

CURRENT AND FUTURE STATE
TODAY’S APPLICATIONS, RESEARCH AND EXPERIMENTS
AND FUTURE PROSPECTS IN FIVE FIELDS
ELECTRONIC BRAIN STIMULATION
STIMULATING SPECIFIC REGIONS OF THE BRAIN WITH
ELECTRICAL IMPULSES TO TRIGGER ENHANCEMENT
SMART DRUGS
NEURO-DRUGS WHICH ARE TRIGGERING OR ENHANCING
SPECIFIC BRAIN ACTIVITIES
BRAIN READING
BEING ABLE TO SCAN, READ AND TRANSLATE SPECIFIC
BRAIN ACTIVITIES AND INTENTIONS
BRAIN IMPLANTS
CHIPS IMPLANTED INTO THE BRAIN AS TRANSMITTER AND
IMPULSE-GIVER OF BRAIN ACTIVITIES
BRAIN MAPPING
STUDYING THE ANATOMY AND THE FUNCTIONING OF THE
BRAIN WITH THE AIM OF SIMULATING IT DIGITALLY

ELECTRIC BRAIN STIMULATION
STIMULATING SPECIFIC REGIONS OF THE BRAIN WITH
ELECTRICAL IMPULSES TO TRIGGER ENHANCEMENT

CURRENT STAT E
TODAY
• ELECTRIC BRAIN STIMULATION HAS A LONG HISTORY AS TREATMENT
TECHNOLOGY
• TDCS AS NEW PROMISING SOLUTION TO TREAT ILLNESSES AND TO
ENHANCE BRAIN PERFORMANCE
• SCIENTIST S AND DIY COMMUNITIES ARE INCREASINGLY
EXPERIMENTING WITH TDCS
• SO FAR ONLY ONE CONSUMER DEVICE ON THE MARKET
!
EVER SINCE THE ROMAN EMPIRE, NONINVASIVE ELECTRIC BRAIN STIMULATION
HAS BEEN PURSUED AS A CURE FOR A LARGE VARIETY OF DISEASES. RECENTLY
HOWEVER, THE TECHNOLOGY HAS BECOME EVERMORE POPULAR, IN PARTICULAR
I N THE FORM OF TRANSCRANIAL DIRECT CURRENT STIMULATION, OR TDCS.
!
TODAY, TDCS I S USED I N MANY SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENTS AS WELL AS DIY
COMMUNITIES AROUND THE GLOBE: THE MILITARY USES IT TO TREAT POST-TRAUMAT
I C STRESS DISORDER OR TO BOOST CONCENTRATION AND SCIENTISTS
ARE EXPERIMENTING I T S BENEFITS TO TREAT VARIOUS NEUROLOGICAL DISEASES
AS WELL AS I T S BRAIN ENHANCING CAPABILITIES BY CONDUCTING EXPERIMENTS
WITH PATIENTS AND ORDINARY PEOPLE.
AS RESULT S HAVE BEEN VERY POSITIVE, MANY DIY COMMUNITIES AND EARLY
ADOPTERS AROUND THE WORLD ARE USING SELF-MADE DEVICES TO ENHANCE
THEIR CONCENTRATION, TO IMPROVE THEIR LEARNING OR THEIR INNER-FOCUS.

FUTURE STATE
„tDCS has the potential to improve — or more accurately
to overclock — almost every aspect of your life“
SEBASTIAN ANTHONY
EXTREMETECH.COM BLOGGER IN AN ARTICLE ABOUT
THE FOC.US CONSUMER TDCS DEVICE

I N THE FUTURE
FUTURE STATE
• ELECTRIC BRAIN STIMULATION BECOMES MORE MAINSTREAM
• TDCS WILL B E A COMMON METHOD TO TREAT BRAIN DISORDERS
• MORE CONSUMER DEVICES WILL F LOCK TO THE MARKET
• ORDINARY PEOPLE WILL U S E TDCS DEVICES TO IMPROVE THEIR FOCUS
AND TO LEARN SKILLS MORE RAPIDLY
• HOWEVER, RATHER AN INTERIM TECHNOLOGY
!
I N THE FUTURE, ELECTRIC BRAIN STIMULATION WILL BECOME A MAINSTREAM
TECHNOLOGY, USED BY A GROWING NUMBER OF PEOPLE. IN HEALTHCARE, THE
USE OF ELECT R I C BRAIN STIMULATION FOR NEUROLOGICAL DISEASES AND BRAIN
DISORDERS WILL BE COMMON PLACE AS IT BECOMES A MUCH CHEAPER AND I N
SOME CASES BETTER ALTERNAT I V E THAN ORDINARY DRUG TREATMENT.
!
FURTHERMORE, MANY NEW CONSUMER DEVICES WILL FLOCK TO THE MARKET,
PROMISING ENHANCED FOCUS AND FASTER LEARNING FOR STUDYING, GAMING,
WORKING AND OTHER APPLICATIONS.
!
HOWEVER, WHEN LOOKING INTO THE MORE DISTANT FUTURE, ELECTRIC BRAIN
STIMULATION MIGHT BE ONLY AN INTERIM TECHNOLOGY BEFORE OTHER HEREIN
DISCUSSED TECHNOLOGIES (E.G. SMART DRUGS OR BRAIN IMPLANTS) WILL BE
ABLE TO PROVIDE ITS BENEFITS I N A BETTER WAY.

SMART DRUGS
NEURO-DRUGS WHICH ARE TRIGGERING OR
ENHANCING SPECIFIC BRAIN ACTIVITIES

TODAY
CURRENT STATE
SMART DRUGS
• SMART DRUGS = NARCOLEPSY, ATTENTION-DEFICIT OR DEPRESSION
DRUGS
• INCREASINGLY USED BY ORDINARY PEOPLE (E.G. STUDENTS)
• TREND FROM TREATMENT TO ENHANCEMENT DRUGS SETTING IN
• NEW DRUGS SPECIFICALLY FOR COGNITIVE ENHANCEMENT ARE BEING
LAUNCHED, SO-CALLED NOOTROPICS
!
TODAY MOST OF THE NEURO-ENHANCING SMART DRUGS THAT ARE IN USE ARE
ACTUALLY NOT SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT BEING USED FOR BRAIN ENHANCEMENT.
DRUGS L I K E ADDERALL, RITALIN OR MODAFINIL ARE DRUGS THAT ARE BEING
P R E S C R I B E D F O R PAT I E N T S WI T H AT T E N T ION - D E F I C I T, D E P R E S S ION OR
NARCOLEPSY.
!
HOWEVER, INCREASINGLY THESE DRUGS ARE BEING TAKEN BY ORDINARY PEOPLE
TO ENHANCE THEIR COGNITIVE SKILLS. STUDENTS USE SMART DRUGS TO KEEP UP
WITH ASSIGNMENTS AND BEFORE EXAMS, COMPANY EXECUTIVES USE THEM TO
DEAL WITH WORK STRESS AND TO BE AHEAD OF THEIR COLLEAGUES, SCIENTISTS
USE THEM WHILE DOING RESEARCH AND MUSICIANS AND ART I ST S USE THEM TO
ENHANCE THEIR PERFORMANCE AND WORK. WHAT HAS LONG BEEN COMMON
PLACE I N THE MILITARY I S MORE AND MORE COMING TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
WE ARE SEEING A PARADIGM SHIFT TAKING PLACE, WHICH IS TRANSFORMING
SMART DRUGS INTO A CONSUMER PRODUCT COMPARABLE TO ENERGY DRINKS,
COFFEE OR OTHER STIMULANTS.

FUTURE STATE
SMART DRUGS
„[…] My prediction is that we are going to ingest information. You're
going to swallow a pill and know English. You're going to swallow a pill
and know Shakespeare. […] So once it's in your bloodstream, it basically
goes through it and gets into the brain, and when it knows that it's in the
brain in the different pieces, it deposits it in the right places.“
NICHOLAS NEGROPONTE
FOUNDER OF MIT MEDIA LAB AT TED CONFERENCE BEING ASKED TO MAKE A PREDICTION

I N THE FUTURE
FUTURE STATE
SMART DRUGS
• SMART DRUGS = SMART DRUGS
• DRUGS FOR BOOSTING COGNITIVE POWER BUT ALSO FOR LEARNING
TO PLAY INSTRUMENTS, FOR UPLOADING KNOWLEDGE AND FOR
INCREASING HAPPINESS
• USED BY ALMOST EVERYONE AND ACCEPTED AS ORDINARY OR EVEN
NECESSARY DRUG, SUPPLEMENT OR TOOL
• HUGE MARKET WITH MANY PLAYERS AND VARIOUS KINDS OF
PRODUCT S
!
I N THE FUTURE SMART DRUGS WILL BE COMMON PLACE, A CONSUMER GOOD
EVERYBODY BUYS. THESE DRUGS WI L L NOT ONLY BE ABLE TO BOOST OUR
COGNITIVE POWER IN TREMENDOUS WAYS, THEY WILL ALSO BE ABLE TO GIVE US
KNOWLEDGE JUST BY INGESTING A P I L L . PEOPLE WI L L BUY DRUGS TO LEARN TO
PLAY INSTRUMENTS AND SPORT S , OR TO OBTAIN MEMORIES AND PLEASURES
THEY HAVEN’T HAD YET.
!
THE OVERWHELMING POTENTIAL OF THESE DRUGS WILL CREAT E A MULTI -BILLION
DOLLAR MARKET WITH MANY COMPANIES AND VARIOUS KINDS OF PRODUCTS
THAT W I L L B E COMMON P LACE AT WORK, IN EDUCAT ION, HEALTHCAR E ,
ENTERTAINMENT AND ADVENTURE.

BRAIN READING
BEING ABLE TO SCAN, READ AND TRANSLAT E
SPECIFIC BRAIN ACTIVITIES AND INTENTIONS

TODAY
CURRENT STATE
BRAIN READING
• MEDICAL AND SCIENTIFIC BRAIN READING THROUGH HIGH-END, HIGH-COST
SCANNERS
• NEURO-HEADSETS ABLE TO TRANSLAT E A LIMITED RANGE OF BRAIN
COMMANDS TO CONTROL COMPUTERS
• SCIENTISTS CAN COPY AND IMPLANT MEMORIES IN MICE AS WELL AS
RECONSTRUCT IMAGES AND VIDEOS FROM HUMAN BRAIN ACT I V I TY
SCANS
!
TODAY THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF NONINVASIVE BRAIN READING FIELDS: ONE
FIELD I S THE MEDICAL AND SCIENTIFIC BRAIN READING, WHERE fMRI SCANNERS
ARE BEING USED TO DIAGNOSE DISORDERS OR PSYCHOLOGICAL ILLNESSES AND
TO RESEARCH AND BETTER UNDERSTAND THE HUMAN BRAIN. THE OTHER AND
RATHER NEW FIELD I S THE BRAIN-MACHINE INTERFACE, WHERE NEURO-HEADSETS
ARE READING AND TRANSLATING BRAIN ACT I V I T I E S I N TO ACTIONS.
!
B E T T E R S CA N N E R S , MORE COMPUTING POWER AND MORE I N T E L L I G E N T
SOFTWARE IS STEADILY BOOSTING PROGRESS IN BOTH F IELDS. TODAY, SCIENTIST S
CAN COPY AND IMPLANT MEMORIES INTO MICE AND RECONSTRUCT IMAGES AND
VIDEOS BASED ON BRAIN ACT I V I TY SCANS. ON THE OTHER HAND, EEG-HEADSETS
ARE USED I N NEUROGAMING AND COMPUTER INTERACTION TO CONTROL VIRTUAL
AND R E A L OBJECT S (GAME-CHARACT E R S , PROST H E T I C S OR DRONES) V I A
THOUGHT.

BRAIN READING
BEING ABLE TO SCAN, READ AND TRANSLAT E
SPECIFIC BRAIN ACTIVITIES AND INTENTIONS
„[…] A brain pacemaker would give an Alzheimer's person the gift of
memory […]. Those memories are placed on a chip that can then be
uploaded into the brain. This was once considered science fiction, but
already we've taken the first steps, at least for animals.“
MICHIO KAKU
AUTHOR OF „THE FUTURE OF THE MIND“ WHEN
ASKED ABOUT MOST SURPRISING RECENT SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGH

I N THE FUTURE
FUTURE STATE
BRAIN READING
• BRAIN READING THROUGH HIGH-END, LOW-COST, TINY SCANNERS
• SCANNERS ARE ABLE TO PERFECTLY TRANSLATE BRAIN COMMANDS TO
CONTROL OUR ENVIRONMENT
• UNCONSCIOUS MIND BECOMES MEASURABLE, UNDERSTANDABLE AND
ACCESSIBLE
• DATABASES AND MARKETPLACES OF BRAIN ACTIVITY SCANS WITH
CORRESPONDING ACTIONS EXIST
• PEOPLE CAN UPLOAD MEMORIES, INFORMATION AND KNOWLEDGE
!
I N THE FUTURE WE WILL BE ABLE TO EFFECTIVELY AND RAPIDLY SCAN BRAIN
ACTIVITY WITH TINY AND CHEAP DEVICES. THUS, PRODUCING SCANS THAT WE
WILL PERFECTLY INTERPRET AND TRANSLAT E I N M I L L I -SECONDS. SUCH SCANS
WILL BE USED TO CONTROL OUR ENVIRONMENT, SUCH AS COMPUTERS AND
CONNECTED OBJECTS VIA THOUGHT, IN A MUCH MORE INTUITIV WAY AS WELL AS
TO UNDERSTAND OUR COGNITIVE WELL-BEING.
!
FURTHERMORE, WE WILL CREAT E DATABASES OF BRAIN ACT I V I TY SCANS WITH THE
CORRESPONDING ACTIONS, MEMORIES AND INFORMATION. PEOPLE WI L L BE ABLE
TO BUY PATTERNS TO UPLOAD MEMORIES, OBTAIN SKILLS, INFORMATION AND
KNOWLEDGE. NEW KINDS OF DEVELOPERS WILL USE THESE DATABASES TO
CREATE COMPLETELY NEW, ART I F I C I A L PATTERNS FOR DESIRED MEMORIES,
INFORMATION AND MUCH MORE.

BRAIN IMPLANTS
CHIPS IMPLANTED INTO THE BRAIN AS
TRANSMITTER AND IMPULSE-GIVER OF BRAIN ACTIVITIES

TODAY
CURRENT STATE
BRAIN IMPLANTS
• BRAIN IMPLANTS USED WITH SMALL PERCENTAGE OF PATIENTS TO
TREAT DEAFNESS, BLINDNESS OR NERVOUS SYSTEM DISORDERS
• IMPLANTS ENABLING PATIENTS TO OVERCOME THEIR HANDICAPS OR
DISORDERS
• NOVEL IMPLANT TECH AND APPLICATIONS ARE BEING TESTED
!
TODAY BRAIN IMPLANTS OR SOMETIMES CALLED NEUROPROSTHETICS ARE USED
WITH PATIENTS THAT HAVE HEARING DISORDERS, PARKINSON’S DISEASE, THAT
ARE BLIND OR EVEN PARALYZED. THESE IMPLANTS EITHER TRY TO REWIRE
DAMAGED BRAIN AREAS OR TO TRANSLATE OR CREATE NEUROLOGICAL SIGNALS
FROM THE BRAIN TO DEVICES OR BODY PART S AND VICE VERSA. THUS, THESE
CURRENTLY AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGIES ENABLE PATIENTS TO OVERCOME THEIR
DISABILITIES I N LIMITED WAYS. A COCHLEAR IMPLANT FOR EXAMPLE TRANSLATES
SOUND INTO ELECTRIC IMPULSES AND SENDS THESE V IA NERVES DIRECTLY TO THE
BRAIN, THEREBY OVERCOMING THE PATIENTS SENSORY HAIR CELL DAMAGE.
!
NOWADAY S , BRAIN IMPLANTS AND PROCEDURES ARE STILL VERY RISKY AND
HIGHLY INVASIVE. THE RELATIVELY BIG WIRES AND CHIPS INSERTED INTO THE
BRAIN ARE PRONE TO INFECTIONS AND COULD TRIGGER INTERNAL BLEEDING.
HOWEVER, SCIENTIST S ARE ALREADY WORKING ON THE NEXT GENERATION OF
BRAIN IMPLANTS AS CHIPS BECOME INCREASINGLY SMALLER WHILST IMPROVING
IN PERFORMANCE AND ENERGY-EFFICIENCY.

FUTURE STATE
BRAIN IMPLANTS
"Eventually you'll have an implant, where if you
think about a fact, it will just tell you the answer."
LARRY PAGE
FOUNDER OF GOOGLE FORECASTING THE FUTURE OF GOOGLE SEARCH

I N THE FUTURE
FUTURE STATE
BRAIN IMPLANTS
• BRAIN IMPLANTS AS COMMON TREATMENT FOR PATIENTS WITH
NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AND OTHER HANDICAPS
• INCREASINGLY ORDINARY PEOPLE WILL USE IMPLANTS TO ENHANCE
THEIR CAPA B I L I T I E S
• A BRAIN NET WILL ENABLE A PERSON TO BE CONNECTED TO THE
INTERNET, TO UPLOAD INFORMATION AND MEMORIES
!
I N T H E F U T U R E , B R A I N I M P L A N T S WILL NOT ONLY BECOME A COMMON
TREATMENT TECHNOLOGY FOR PAT I E N T S WITH PSYCHOLOGICAL D I S E A S E S ,
NERVOUS SYSTEM DISORDERS AND OTHER HANDICAPS, RATHER THEY WILL ALSO
B E ADA PT E D B Y O R D I N A RY P E O P L E W I T H T H E A I M TO ENHANC E THE I R
CAPABILITIES. PEOPLE WI L L CHOOSE A BRAIN IMPLANT IN ORDER TO CONNECT
THEIR BRAIN WITH THE CLOUD TO BE ABLE TO EXTEND THEIR MEMORY STORAGE,
P R O C E S S I N G P O W E R A N D U LT I M AT E LY T O E N A B L E T H EM T O U P L O A D
INFORMATION, KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS INTO THEIR BRAIN. A BRAIN CONNECTED
TO THE INTERNET WI L L LEAD TO COMPLETELY NEW KINDS OF COMMUNICATION,
EDUCATION, INTELLIGENCE BENCHMARKS AND MANY MORE RADICAL CHANGES.
!
THE BRAIN IMPLANT I T S E L F WILL RATHER BE A BRAIN NET, CONSISTING OF A
LARGE AMOUNT OF SENSORS AND TRIGGERS IMPLANTED THROUGHOUT THE
B R A I N , M A K I N G I T P O S S I B L E TO R E A D A N D T R I G G E R A L L K I N D S O F
NEUROLOGICAL PROCESSES.

BRAIN MAPPING
STUDYING THE ANATOMY AND THE FUNCTIONING
OF THE BRAIN WITH THE AIM OF SIMULATING IT DIGITALLY

TODAY
CURRENT STATE
BRAIN MAPPING
• UNDERSTANDING OF THE HUMAN BRAIN ST I L L VERY NARROW
• TODAY’S TECHNOLOGIES NOT ABLE TO SCAN THE BRAIN IN THE DETAIL
STRUCTURE THAT WOULD BE NEEDED
• U.S. AND EU BRAIN INITIATIVES HAVE LAUNCHED WITH THE AIM OF
MODELING THE HUMAN BRAIN
!
TODAY OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE HUMAN BRAIN IS STILL VERY NARROW. WE
KNOW TO SOME EXTENT WHICH AREAS OF THE BRAIN ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR
WHICH KIND OF TASK, HOWEVER WE LACK A DEEPER AND MORE DETAILED
UNDERSTANDING OF THE SPECIFIC TASKS EVERY SINGLE NEURON PERFORMS. THE
COMPLEXITY OF OUR BRAIN SEEMS TO BE JUST TOO VAST FOR US TO FINALLY GET
A DETAILED UNDERSTANDING OF I T AND TO MODEL IT ON A COMPUTER - A
HUMAN BRAIN HAS APPROX . 86 BILLION NEURONS WITH APPROX . UP TO 100,000
SYNAPSES.
!
NONETHELESS, WE HAVE INCREASINGLY SEEN SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS IN BRAIN
MAPPING. THE EMERGENCE OF OPTOGENICS FOR EXAMPLE ALLOWS US TO TURN
OFF SPECIFIC AREAS OF THE BRAIN I N ORDER TO BE ABLE TO FOCUS ON JUST A
TINY AMOUNT OF NEURONS AND BRAIN ACT I V I T I E S . IN ADDITION, TWO HIGHLY
FUNDED I N I T I ATIVES WITH THE AIM TO MAP THE ENTIRE HUMAN BRAIN HAVE
BEEN LAUNCHED I N THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE U. S . THUS, SCIENTISTS ARE
MAKING STEADY PROGRESS BY INTRODUCING INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUES AND
APPROACHES AND BY OVERCOMING THE CHALLENGES OF THE PAST.

FUTURE STATE
BRAIN MAPPING
„[…] To create technologies enabling the transfer of an
individual’s personality to a more advanced non-biological carrier,
and extending life, including to the point of immortality.“
MAIN GOAL OF THE GLOBAL 2045 INITIATIVE
A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION FOUNDED BY RUSSIAN ENTREPRENEUR DIMITRY ITSKOV

I N THE FUTURE
FUTURE STATE
BRAIN MAPPING
• AFTER MAPPING THE BRAIN OF CHIMPANZEES WE WILL B E ABLE TO
MAP THE ENTIRE HUMAN BRAIN
• AFFORDABLE COMPUTATION POWER AND SCANNING TECHNOLOGIES
ARE AVAILABLE
• PEOPLE ARE MAKING DIGITAL COPIES OF THEMSELVES TO EXTEND
THEIR LIFESPAN INTO THE INFINITE
• FULL UNDERSTANDING OF ALL BRAIN MECHANISMS WILL RADICALLY
TRANSFORM SOCIETY
!
I N THE FUTURE, WE WILL BE ABLE TO INCREASINGLY UNDERSTAND MORE AND
MORE OF OUR BRAIN’S MECHANISMS WHICH WILL ULTIMATELY ENABLE US TO
MODEL THE ENTIRE HUMAN BRAIN. THIS WI L L FURTHER ALLOW US AMONG OTHERS
TO COMPREHEND ALL KINDS OF NEUROLOGICAL DISEASES AND TO CONCEIVE OF
CONSCIOUS AND UNCONSCIOUS PROCESSES IN OUR BRAINS.
!
PEOPLE WILL ULTIMATELY BE ABLE TO MAKE DIGITAL COPIES OF THEMSELVES,
EXTENDING THEIR LIFESPAN INTO THE INFINITE AND RADICALLY ENHANCING
T H E I R N E U R O L O G I C A L P R O C E S S E S A N D T H U S I N T E L L I G E N C E . A S A
CONSEQUENCE, THE TECHNOLOGY WILL TRANSFORM L I F E AND SOCIETY IN
UNIMAGINABLE WAYS AND LEAD TO THE EMERGENCE OF WHAT MANY WOULD
CALL A NEW KIND OF TECHNOLOGICAL HUMAN SPECIES.

@tomcatfuturist
www.tomcatfuturist.com
thomas.klaffke@gmail.com
09/2014

Brain Enhancement - The Road to Superintelligence

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (13)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Brain Enhancement - The Road to Superintelligence