Ctrl-Labs is a company that works on controlling devices with your thoughts. Does this sound too futuristic? Social media giant Facebook does not think so. The corporate has just acquired the startup for up to USD 1 billion, according to insiders. Ctrl-Labs develops bracelets that can detect neural signals on their way to muscles and transforms them into software instructions linked to a specific device.
Facebook has shown interest in the company already earlier in 2017 as they saw the tremendous potential for transforming communication. According to Facebook manager Andrew Bosworth, the company may use the technology across its platforms (WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook) to allow its users to send messages and share pictures by simply thinking about it.
Another strong supporter of the technology is Elon Musk. The visionary is actively working on the idea via his company Neuralink which develops fabric brain implants that connect your mind to computer devices. The use cases are immense. For Tesla, for example, such a technology would open up new opportunities in terms of user experience.
However, this technology has not only gained supporters. Critics highlight the fact that it may allow companies to read our thoughts or even worse, influence them. Facebook stresses that it has no intention do so and states that users selectively choose what thoughts to share via their speech centre. Yet, after the company’s interest in the technology became evident in 2017, the project became silent afterwards and Facebook’s head of research, Regina Dugan, left the company shortly afterwards.
Facebook’s acquisition and Elon Musk’s investments indicate that the next big revolution in Tech will be in neuroscience. Both digital and physical industries will change dramatically as the use cases and areas of application of Neurotech are endless. Imagine a future where one day our mind may control all the devices surrounding us.
Sources:
https://www.gruenderszene.de/technologie/facebook-kauft-ctrl-labs?interstitial
https://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/unternehmen/facebook-kauft-start-up-geraete-mit-gedanken-steuern-16400323.html
Thank you Kim, this was an eye opening read.
I personally find it almost frightening that companies such as Facebook will have the power to read our thoughts. Especially considering that Facebook already has gathered so much other information on each and everyone of us. Recent scandals such as the Cambridge Analytica Scandal show that Facebook is not able to protect their users’ data effectively. On the other hand, I see a tremendous potential in efficiency as our hands are currently the bottleneck when interacting with the digital world. Thoughts will have a tremendous bandwidth enabling completely new applications and use cases. But the important questions remain:
Will legislature be fast enough to adapt general accepted rules and practices with regards to ethics & privacy?
Who will enforce these new laws?
What if the government will misuse this technology to spy on citizens?