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posted by chromas on Wednesday August 07 2019, @07:19PM   Printer-friendly
from the voices-keep-telling-me-to-buy-stuff dept.

Submitted via IRC for AndyTheAbsurd

AlterEgo, [Arnav] Kapur's new wearable device system, can detect what you're saying when you're talking to yourself, even if you're completely silent and not moving your mouth.

The technology involves a system of sensors that detect the minuscule neuromuscular signals sent by the brain to the vocal cords and muscles of the throat and tongue. These signals are sent out whenever we speak to ourselves silently, even if we make no sounds. The device feeds the signals through an A.I., which "reads" them and turns them into words. The user hears the A.I.'s responses through a microphone that conducts sound through the bones of the skull and ear, making them silent to others. Users can also respond out loud using artificial voice technology.

[...] Kapur is currently testing the device on people with communication limitations through various hospitals and rehabilitation centers in the Boston area. These limitations could be caused by stroke, cerebral palsy or neurodegenerative diseases like ALS. In the case of ALS, the disease affects the nerves in the brain and spinal cord, progressively robbing people of their ability to use their muscles, including those that control speech. But their brains still send speech signals to the vocal cords and the 100-plus muscles involved in speaking. AlterEgo can capture those signals and turn them into speech. According to Kapur's research[pdf], the system is about 92 percent accurate.

Source: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/device-can-hear-voice-inside-your-head-180972785/


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  • (Score: 2) by pipedwho on Thursday August 08 2019, @12:35AM (1 child)

    by pipedwho (2032) on Thursday August 08 2019, @12:35AM (#877278)

    Actually, the art of lying to someone else is first by lying to yourself. The sort of dystopian use of this technique that you describe would be even easier to fake out in situations where it actually mattered.

    For example, when asked a question, "are you a Russian spy?"
    Your first pre-programmed and rehearsed thought is, "hell no, I'm a die hard patriot!" ... "for China" ... damn, really that last part was a joke. It just popped into my head. Oh come on bro, please put down the taser. Pleeeeeeezzzzttttttttteeease!!!

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  • (Score: 2) by pipedwho on Thursday August 08 2019, @12:42AM

    by pipedwho (2032) on Thursday August 08 2019, @12:42AM (#877280)

    And in the cell across the way:

    PLA: "What is your affiliation with the Tibetan separatists?"
    Tibetan Buddhist monk: "Aum....... Aum........ Aum........"