Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

50calPeephole t1_j5ttxp3 wrote

Well this is awesome and terrifying at the same time.

Where's the neurological line between tapping into what we want to voice, and our internal monologue?

110

c0mpost t1_j5tzs73 wrote

The line is very clear. They are using inputs from the motor cortex, so the difference is really the same as it is between actually enabling vocal musculature and thinking quietly. I think understanding the internal monologue enough to inspect it is still very very far, and maybe not even feasible using implants, as it seems to be a spacially diffuse neural task.

110

nivrams_brain t1_j5ugjyb wrote

Iirc, these neurons are also activated with internal monolog

16

chth t1_j5uik9n wrote

People often don't realize they silently mouth some of the things in their internal monolog.

23

rathat t1_j5vpdoq wrote

I don't find my mouth moving, but I can often feel my vocal cords matching the pitch of my inner voice.

3

chihuahuassuck t1_j5vue33 wrote

I find that I can't say the word "world" in my head without either moving my tongue or mentally enunciating very carefully. It "sounds" more like "would" otherwise.

1

rathat t1_j5vunis wrote

Yeah, that's interesting, I can really feel that rl sound push itself into your mouth.

1

duffmanhb t1_j5wg8f3 wrote

We've discovered just how adaptive the brain is when it comes to trying to engage with the outer world. For the most part, the brain will simply make whatever required pathways needed, to adapt to the new tool it's using.

1

stan4MarcusAurelius t1_j5tunu2 wrote

Lots of "did I just neuron-to-speech that out loud!?" accidents incoming

43

50calPeephole t1_j5txdy3 wrote

I'm a bit more cynical and was thinking of the military using it for interrogation, or worse police getting a warrant to put a hat on you that pulls the info.

MIT already has a device that scrapes your internal monolog by using sympathetic reflexes in the throat. Technologically speaking, the requirement for an implant is a current limitation that will be overcome.

So while legally questions about use are somewhat ambiguous, typically the solutions don't get resolved until someone decides to abuse it.

23

handplan t1_j5v3rdc wrote

Probably not. Probably can configure a button so it will be push to talk or you can mute yourself. Then you can say "Sorry guys I forgot I was muted" in real life

2

kriven_risvan t1_j5u6egn wrote

those are two very different things, neurologically. Some people don't even have an internal monologue.

10

nxqv t1_j5vd1gu wrote

I honestly think it's more likely that the people who say they don't have one are just not self-aware enough to realize that they do have one. And then there's some % of people who think they're being asked if they hear voices inside their head so they say no

0

kriven_risvan t1_j5vfsj7 wrote

Is that just your opinion, or is it based on some research I can read?

6

nxqv t1_j5wn9di wrote

That's just my opinion

0

rathat t1_j5vqe2m wrote

Most people think most of the time with an inner voice. Some people think more with imagery than an inner voice, and then there are some people who are just not capable of thinking in an inner voice at all. It's called aphantasia. They can't imagine sound well at all. Some of them also use imagery, but it's also common for them to not be able to imagine imagery either. But I'm sure your last idea also happens sometimes, people just misunderstanding what an inner voice is.

1

brianorca t1_j5w8xhy wrote

You understand that animals such as chimps and dogs probably have some kind of thought process that doesn't involve words, right? It's not a stretch to think that some people can have thoughts without words, too.

1

PristineBiscuit t1_j5ucwj7 wrote

Think "The difference between knowing how to write the word you want to", | ^and | "actually writing it"

5

rathat t1_j5vqkis wrote

It's like, no matter how much I try to will my arm to move, it won't happen unless I actually move it.

1

satisfried t1_j5u2err wrote

Some people don’t even have an internal monologue. I always found that weird because mine won’t stfu.

3

immaownyou t1_j5tznpv wrote

Probably the same difference between you deciding to only think something instead of saying it lol, the person would probably use the technology in the same way of thought

2

Iinzers t1_j5v6szh wrote

Well you need brain surgery to make this work so its a pretty solid line.

−1

wolfgang784 t1_j5u44t8 wrote

Nah nah nah - you want terrifying?

Wait till someone (a government first prolly) uses this to take control of someone important/influential/polarizing and use them for their own narrative. Everyone thinks the person in question is saying these things, but it's the government feeding lines instead and the patient is just trapped.

−3