Although an experimental enterprise, the BCI industry has taken the world by storm, revolutionizing people's outlook on the future of specially-abled individuals.
First conceived in the 1920s, BCI is a technology that enables communication between a human's brain and a computer, essentially allowing the BCI user to exercise complete control over a machine. BCIs place electrodes close to the synapses (gaps between neurons in the brain) in order to detect the frequency and intensity of each spike as the neurons fire electrical-chemical signals.

The potential of this tech is massive in most fields, but is especially crucial in enhancing the quality of life of people with disabilities, and national defense (hands-free drone control).

As researchers spent countless sleepless nights exploring it, they bifurcated BCIs into two for easier, specific exploration: implanted and wearable devices.

Often surgically attached to the brain tissue, implanted devices are appropriate for users with severe neuromuscular disabilities, or impairments resulting from physical injury.
For example, a paraplegic individual could potentially regain partial or even complete motor capabilities in their lower extremities. This will be achieved by attaching the BCI to the specific neurons in their brain to achieve precise control.

Implanted BCIs measure brain signals directly, thus reducing interference from nearby tissues (which is for signaling a different part of the body). However, as all body implants do, brain implants pose enormous risks, both surgical and post-surgical - infection and rejection. An alternate method of implantation is by merely placing electrodes on the brain surface in order to reduce risk - this method is called electrocorticography (ECoG).

On the other hand, wearable BCIs are usually in the form of a conductor-bearing cap that is capable of measuring brain activity from a person's scalp. These signals may be attenuated (stunted and incomplete) as they will have to pass through the dura, skull, and scalp to be recorded. However, this method is not recommended for individuals with serious difficulty correction / aid, but instead for virtual gaming, augmented reality, as well as external machine control that can afford a small margin of error.

Wearable BCIs utilize the concept of electroencephalography (EEG) to measure cognitive function.
The early 1970s witnessed the testing of the first wearable BCI on monkeys at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), closely followed by the first human trials conducted in the 1990s.

Over the years, commendable progress has been achieved, but as of today the mobility of an individual using a wearable BCI is hampered. The machine must be connected at all times to the wires protruding out of the patient's head. Researchers are exploring methods of portability, and are confident it will become viable in the next decade, but will take another to make it accessible to the general public. Miniaturization of components, advances in wireless communication, and improvements in battery life are domains that must be developed extensively to make this goal achievable.

According to a company that specializes in BCI tech, less than 50 people worldwide have implanted BCIs. Synchron, the first company to enroll and complete enrollment for clinical trials on humans, has completed one round, and requires another pivotal one before getting market approval from the FDA for commercialization.

BCI research's focus has been concentrated majorly on biomedical applications such as recovery from strokes, communication when suffering from neurological disorders, and making the devices wearable. Another revolutionary use-case is national defense - BCIs could potentially enable soldiers to operate a drone hands-free, resulting in more efficient warfare.

Post-achievement of a usable BCI implant, the usage has to be analyzed. Every person on the planet produces unique brain signals. For one to utilize this technology properly, they must train their brains to produce signals recognizable by the implant, so the signals can be translated to steer an external electronic device using machine learning. This is a genuine roadblock to the development of this technology as each BCI must be calibrated to recognize each user's unique signal.

From assisting in remote monitoring & controlling to military intelligence collection, the implementations are in abundance, but so are the technical, ethical, and societal implications.

The ethical nature of the interface is called into question when considering what exactly classifies as consent, and the sort of advantages that may be conferred upon an individual when they undergo certain enhancements brought about by BCIs. Moreover, given the current state of the world, people getting coerced into getting a BCI implant so as to monitor their thoughts is possible - a truly frightening possibility. Thus, regulation of human capability augmentation is essential.

Additionally, the data collected by the BCI must logically be stored somewhere, and this storage device may be vulnerable to cyber-attacks, which may either result in leaks or interference with the intended result (especially in the backdrop of several high profile cyberattacks).

As this billion dollar industry develops, we must consider if the public will opt to avail this commodity? Or will they discard the possibility on account of its cost? What is considered to be unethical? Where should the line be drawn? The answers to these questions will not be found in analyzing the past, but rather by exploring avenues of safe implementation in the future.

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Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs)

Rakshita Vijay