For as long as we’ve understood the concept of privacy, thoughts have been considered the most personal part of being human. The brain’s complexity has made mind reading virtually impossible. Despite countless attempts, researchers have never been able to truly observe a human thought in action.
Until now.
Emerging technologies suggest that it may soon be possible to harness the power of thought to treat certain conditions - enabling paralyzed individuals to move again, or giving a voice to those who cannot speak.
The core of this technology is the brain-computer interface, or BCI - a tiny implant that reads brain activity. Once in place, the BCI can quickly analyze neural signals and trigger a specific action, like turning on a lamp, moving a computer cursor, or speaking a word.
FRom thought to action
In recent years, research into BCIs has ramped up, with multiple companies implanting devices into human brains and reporting encouraging results.
In January 2024, Neuralink - Elon Musk’s brain tech venture - implanted its device into a human brain for the first time. The patient was 31-year-old Noland Arbaugh, who has been paralyzed from the neck down since a 2016 diving accident.
Since the implant, Arbaugh has used his mind to play video games, browse the internet, and control a computer cursor - all without moving a muscle. This progress came despite a setback just weeks after surgery, when part of the implant detached inside his brain.
the risk of invasive tech
One of the key dilemmas in brain tech is whether a device is invasive - implanted directly into the brain - or not.
Brain surgery carries real risks and serious implications. In the U.S., this adds significant hurdles to getting FDA approval.
That said, the deeper into the brain an implant goes, the more accurately it can interpret neural activity - and the more precisely it can trigger the desired outcome.
Creative approaches, lower risks
To avoid invasive surgery, New York-based startup Synchron - backed by Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates - is taking a different route: delivering implants to the brain via the bloodstream. And so far, that approach is showing promise.
Synchron’s technology aims to let people with limited hand mobility control a touchscreen using only their thoughts. In September 2024, the company announced that none of its six U.S. trial participants experienced any adverse side effects. Even better, all six showed signs of generating Digital Motor Outputs (DMOs) - the brain activity patterns that BCIs detect and convert into actions on a device.
With four trial participants in Australia and six in the U.S., Synchron currently leads the world in human brain tech testing.
from treatment to power
Brain tech offers groundbreaking potential for treating neurological conditions. At UC Berkeley in California, researchers recently shared a video showing a woman who had lost the ability to speak. Using an external device, she was able to convert spontaneous thoughts into spoken words. Meanwhile, Neuralink has announced plans to begin human trials of its Blindsight technology later this year, which could allow blind patients with an intact visual cortex to regain some form of sight.
But while these advances are solving real problems, they also raise serious concerns. It doesn’t take much imagination to picture how such technologies could be misused - or to see the ethical minefield they’re creating.
We haven’t yet seen brain tech used to influence or control thoughts - but it’s not out of the question. That possibility alone raises red flags.
Even more urgent is the question of data: how it’s collected, used, and protected. BCIs generate incredibly sensitive neural data. In a world where cyberattacks are becoming more frequent and sophisticated, that kind of information in the wrong hands could reveal deeply personal patterns of human thought. And as the saying goes, knowledge is power.
Add to that the basic human rights at stake - like the right to privacy and freedom of thought - and it becomes clear: we’re only beginning to understand the implications.
Brain tech could be a gift to humanity. It truly has the power to treat conditions once believed untreatable. But like any powerful innovation, it comes with risks - and we need to tackle the ethical questions now, before technology outpaces our ability to control it.