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man: GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE.
WELCOME TO ANOTHER EXCITING AUTHORS AT GOOGLE TALK.
UM, TODAY, WE'RE FEATURING DR. MICHAEL CHOROST,
WHO IS AN INTERNATIONAL AUTHORITY
ON THE INTERSECTIONS BETWEEN SOCIOLOGY
AND MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY,
ESPECIALLY IN THE FIELD OF COCHLEAR IMPLANTS.
UM, HE'S SPOKEN ON THE SUBJECT ALMOST EVERYWHERE,
FROM THE PAGES OF THE ECONOMIST
TO THE COMMONWEALTH CLUB IN SAN FRANCISCO,
AND EVEN ON NPR.
HE RECEIVED HIS PHD
FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN,
AND CURRENTLY RESIDES IN SAN FRANCISCO.
MOST RECENTLY, HE'S WRITTEN A TV DOCUMENTARY
ON MEDICAL IMPLANTS FOR PBS
AND IS THE COEDITOR OF A BOOK
ON EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY LEARNING DESIGN,
WHICH ALSO FEATURES ONE OF OUR FELLOW GOOGLERS,
CHRIS DiGIANO.
HE'LL BE SPEAKING TODAY ABOUT HIS MOST--
ABOUT HIS BOOK, WHICH IS ENTITLED
REBUILT: MY JOURNEY BACK TO THE HEARING WORLD.
UM, HE SPEAKS ABOUT HOW BECOMING A CYBORG
CHANGED HIS LIFE AND RESTORED HIS HEARING.
UM, AT THE END OF THE TALK,
WE'LL HAVE TIME FOR SOME QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.
WE HAVE A Q&A MIKE AVAILABLE FOR OUR VIRTUAL
AND REMOTE OFFICES.
AND AS WELL AT THE END OF THE TALK,
MIKE--DR. CHOROST-- WILL BE AVAILABLE TO SIGN BOOKS
AND ANSWER ANY OTHER REMAINING QUESTIONS YOU HAVE.
SO I'D LIKE YOU TO JOIN ME IN WELCOMING DR. MICHAEL CHOROST.
[applause] Michael: THANK YOU.
THANK YOU.
THANK YOU, CLIFF.
OKAY, CAN EVERYONE HEAR ME OKAY?
IMPORTANT QUESTION, 'CAUSE I'M DEAF,
SO I HAVE TO CHECK IF OTHER PEOPLE CAN HEAR ME OKAY.
NOW, I'M GONNA TALK TODAY ABOUT MY INFORMATED BODY,
AND YOURS.
SO I'M GOING TO START BY TALKING ABOUT
MY INFORMATED BODY,
AND I'LL TALK ABOUT WHAT INFORMATING MEANS.
FIRST, THIS IS THE BOOK I WROTE ABOUT HAVING AN INFORMATED BODY.
AND AN INFORMATED BODY
IS ONE THAT NEEDS DATA TO FUNCTION,
OR OUTPUTS DATA AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF ITS FUNCTIONING.
NOW, MOST BODIES ARE NOT INFORMATED, OKAY?
BUT MINE IS.
IF YOU TAKE A CLOSE LOOK
AT THE PICTURE OF MY BOOK COVER HERE--
AND BY THE WAY, I THINK I MAY BE THE ONLY AUTHOR
IN PUBLISHING HISTORY
TO HAVE A PICTURE OF THE INSIDE OF HIS HEAD
AND THE OUTSIDE OF HIS HEAD ON THE SAME BOOK COVER.
OKAY, BECAUSE YOU CAN SEE HERE
THE INSIDE OF MY SKULL,
BUT ALSO MY FACE,
BECAUSE A CAT SCAN CAPTURES SOFT TISSUE
AS WELL AS BONE.
SO I HAVE A PRETTY NORMAL SKULL,
EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT YOU SEE THIS IMPLANT
INSIDE IT, RIGHT ABOVE WHERE MY EAR IS.
THE REASON I HAVE THAT IS BECAUSE I WAS FIRST BORN
WITH SEVERE HEARING LOSSES BACK IN 1964.
MY MOTHER HAD RUBELLA--
THERE WAS AN EPIDEMIC OF RUBELLA GOING ON
AT THAT TIME.
AND SO, AS I LIKE TO SAY,
I WAS IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE WRONG TIME.
SO I WAS BORN WITH SEVERE HEARING LOSSES
IN BOTH EARS.
I GOT HEARING AIDS WHEN I WAS ABOUT 3 1/2.
AND I DID VERY WELL WITH HEARING AIDS.
AND I THOUGHT NOTHING WOULD EVER CHANGE.
BUT THEN, IN JULY 2001,
I SUDDENLY LOST THE REMAINING HEARING IN MY GOOD EAR.
SO I WENT FROM BEING HEARING IMPAIRED
TO BEING TOTALLY DEAF IN ABOUT FOUR HOURS.
ON THE TRIP HOME, I HAD TWO THOUGHTS.
THE FIRST THOUGHT WAS,
COCHLEAR IMPLANT.
AND I'LL TALK ABOUT WHAT A COCHLEAR IMPLANT IS.
THE SECOND THOUGHT WAS,
I COULD PROBABLY WRITE A PRETTY GOOD BOOK ABOUT THIS.
AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I PROCEEDED TO DO.
I CAME HOME THAT EVENING, SAT DOWN,
AND STARTED WRITING.
'CAUSE I KNEW THAT I WAS GOING TO BE IN FOR
AN ASTOUNDING EXPERIENCE.
AN EXPERIENCE OF HAVING ONE OF MY SENSES
TRANSFORMED BY COMPUTATIONAL POWER.
SO I WANT TO TRY AND CONVEY TO YOU
NOT JUST WHAT THAT IS LIKE,
BUT ALSO TALK ABOUT WHAT THAT TECHNOLOGY MAY DO IN THE FUTURE.
SO AS I'VE SAID, AN INFORMATED BODY
IS ONE THAT NEEDS DATA TO WORK, WHERE WORKS--
OUTPUTS DATA IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THAT FUNCTIONING.
NOW, THE WORD INFORMATED IS FROM A WONDERFUL BOOK
BY SOMEONE NAMED SHOSHANA ZUBOFF.
THIS BOOK CAME OUT IN 1988,
AND SHE INTRODUCED THIS WORD TO TALK ABOUT
HOW INDUSTRIES ARE TRANSFORMED
WHEN COMPUTING COMES INTO THEM.
FOR EXAMPLE, PAPER MILLS WERE TRANSFORMED
BECAUSE PEOPLE WENT FROM SMELLING AND FEELING PULP
TO USING DIALS AND SENSORS TO MEASURE IT.
SO THEY WENT FROM HANDLING WITH THEIR HANDS
TO BEING INFORMATION WORKERS IN WHITE ROOMS READING DIALS
IN JUST A FEW YEARS.
SO THE WHOLE PAPER MILL INDUSTRY
WAS INFORMATED WHEN COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY CAME IN.
AND, REALLY, THE REST OF THE PLANET
HAS BEEN INFORMATED IN SO MANY WAYS.
BUT ONE THING THAT HAS NOT BEEN INFORMATED
IS THE HUMAN BODY.
EXCEPT IN A FEW EXCEPTIONS, LIKE IN MY CASE.
SO ONE THING THAT I WANT TO TALK ABOUT TODAY
IS THE BUSINESS OF INFORMATED BODIES
BECAUSE GOOGLE IS, OF COURSE, A BUSINESS.
IT'S MUCH MORE THAN A BUSINESS,
BUT ONE THING IT IS IS A BUSINESS.
SO A SUGGESTION THAT I'M GOING TO BE MAKING
IS THAT INFORMATING THE BODY IS GOING TO CREATE
ENTIRELY NEW INDUSTRIES
TO PROVIDE DEVICES AND SERVICES.
MEDICAL MONITORING AND CONTROL,
MIND CONTROL OF EXTERNAL DEVICES,
AND I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU SOME EYE-POPPING MEDIAS
DEMONSTRATING JUST THAT.
AND COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PEOPLE.
SO MY SECOND BOOK,
WHICH I JUST SOLD LAST WEEK, SO I'M OVER THE MOON ABOUT THIS,
IS ABOUT THESE PROSPECTS.
IT'S ABOUT INFORMATING THE BODY.
SO, LIKE ANY ARTIST,
I LOVE TO TALK ABOUT STUFF I'VE DONE,
BUT I'D LOVE EVEN MORE TO TALK ABOUT THE STUFF
THAT I AM DOING.
SO THIS IS THE BOOK THAT I'M WRITING NOW.
I JUST SOLD IT TO THE FREE PRESS,
WHICH IS OWNED BY SIMON & SCHUSTER,
SO IT SHOULD COME OUT IN 2010, MAYBE 2011.
SO A LOT OF THE IDEAS
I'M GOING TO BE PRESENTING IN THIS TALK
ARE IDEAS THAT ARE GOING TO BE GOING INTO THIS BOOK.
I WANT TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE,
IT'S MORE OF A DOWN-HOME EXAMPLE,
OF INFORMATING THE BODY.
YOU KNOW, I WROTE A STORY
ON A COMPANY CALLED PROTEUS BIOMEDICAL.
THEY'RE LOCAL, THEY'RE A BAY-AREA COMPANY.
THEY'VE CREATED A REALLY INTERESTING TECHNOLOGY
CALLED THE RAISIN SYSTEM.
THEY'RE CREATING IT. IT'S NOT ON THE MARKET YET.
IT'S IN DEVELOPMENT.
AND THEY WROTE AN ARTICLE IN "TECHNOLOGY REVIEW"
ON THEIR TECHNOLOGY,
AND HERE'S THE WAY IT WORKS.
THE USER SWALLOWS A PILL.
NOW, THIS PILL HAS A MICROCHIP ON ITS SURFACE.
AND THERE'S A BATTERY ON THE PILL AS WELL.
SO WHEN YOU SWALLOW THE PILL,
THE BATTERY'S ACTIVATED BY THE WATER IN YOUR STOMACH.
THE PILL EMITS ELECTRICAL SIGNALS
THAT IDENTIFY WHAT THE PILL IS.
THE USER WEARS A CENSOR PATCH ON THEIR BODY
THAT PICKS UP THAT SIGNAL
AND RECORDS WHAT PILL WAS SWALLOWED
AND WHEN IT WAS SWALLOWED.
NOT ONLY THAT, THE SENSOR ALSO RECORDS
THE BODY'S RESPONSE TO THE PILL,
CHANGES IN TEMPERATURE,
CHANGES IN BLOOD PRESSURE,
CHANGES IN THE USER'S ACTIVITY,
AND THIS IS DONE WITH TECHNOLOGY
THAT'S A BIT LIKE MEMS TECHNOLOGY,
WITH MINATURE ACCELEROMETERS, FOR EXAMPLE.
AND THEN THE CENSOR SENDS THAT DATA
TO THE PATIENT'S CELL PHONE,
WHICH THEN SENDS IT ON TO THE PHYSICIAN'S SERVER.
SO THE DOCTOR CAN TAKE A LOOK AT A RECORD
OF EXACTLY WHAT MEDICATIONS THE PATIENTS TOOK AND WHEN,
AND LOOK AT THEIR EFFECT ON THE BODY.
SO YOU CAN SEE THAT THIS HYPOTHETICAL PATIENT HERE
IS OUTPUTTING A STREAM OF DATA
THAT SIGNIFIES THEIR BODY'S RESPONSE TO MEDICATION.
SO IN A VERY PROFOUND WAY,
THAT PATIENT'S BODY HAS BECOME
A SITE OF DATA PRODUCTION.
THAT'S AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT I MEAN BY INFORMATING THE BODY.
SO I THINK THE CONCEPT OF INFORMATING,
ESPECIALLY WHERE THE BODY IS CONCERNED,
IS GOING TO BECOME MORE AND MORE IMPORTANT
AS TIME GOES ON.
AND I THINK GOOGLE IS GOING TO PLAY A BIG ROLE
IN THAT INFORMATING.
JUST FOR EXAMPLE, I HAVE FOUND THAT
I CANNOT WORK WITHOUT GOOGLE ANYMORE.
I HAVE TO DO GOOGLE SEARCHES SIX OR EIGHT TIMES AN HOUR
JUST TO DO MY WORK.
WHEN I DON'T HAVE GOOGLE,
MY BRAIN JUST COMES TO A STOP.
WHEN I WAS YOUNGER, I WAS ABLE TO DEFER CERTAIN QUESTIONS.
WHAT IS THAT BOOK? WHAT IS THAT REFERENCE?
I WAS ABLE TO PUT "***" IN MY MANUSCRIPT
AND KEEP WRITING
AND COME BACK AND ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS LATER.
I CAN'T DO THAT ANYMORE.
I HAVE TO GO GET THE ANSWER IMMEDIATELY.
IT'S BUILT INTO MY WRITING FLOW.
AND NOT ONLY THAT, IT'S NOT JUST CONCRETE ANSWERS
TO SPECIFIC QUESTIONS,
IT'S IDEAS AND ARTICLES.
I WILL STOP, GOOGLE A CERTAIN TERM,
LEARN ABOUT IT, READ ABOUT IT,
GO BACK TO WRITING.
SO THE INFORMATION ECONOMY AND TECHNOLOGY
HAS BECOME CENTRAL TO THE WAY I THINK.
AND I SUSPECT THAT'S THE SAME
FOR MANY, MANY OTHER PEOPLE AS WELL.
SO COLLECTIVELY, TECHNOLOGY LIKE GOOGLE,
THE WEB, WIKIPEDIA, AND VARIOUS OTHER SERVICES
ARE IN EFFECT INFORMATING HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS,
THAT WE ARE BECOMING INTEGRATED INTO A GLOBAL NETWORK
OF DATA CONSUMPTION AND DATA PRODUCTION.
SO HERE'S ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF THAT KIND OF INTEGRATION.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, LIKE RIGHT NOW
I HAVE A BLACKBERRY,
'CAUSE I'M WAITING TO GET AN iPHONE G3.
BUT I'VE BORROWED, YOU KNOW, MY GIRLFRIEND'S iPHONE,
YOU KNOW, ON FAIRLY FREQUENT OCCASIONS.
SO I'VE DONE IT TO ASK QUESTIONS LIKE--
AND I'VE DONE THIS WITH MY BLACKBERRY TOO, BY THE WAY--
QUESTIONS LIKE, "HOW HIGH IS THIS HILL I'M CLIMBING?"
LIKE WHEN I WAS CLIMBING TWIN PEAKS IN SAN FRANCISCO.
I JUST WANTED TO HAVE A SENSE,
HOW MUCH AM I GOING UP TODAY?
WHAT DO THE CRITICS SAY ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR MOVIE,
LIKE OUTSIDE THE THEATER?
WHERE CAN I FIND TENT STAKES ON MARKET STREET?
THAT WAS JUST BEFORE BURNING MAN,
WHEN I REALLY, REALLY NEEDED TENT STAKES.
WHERE ARE SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN'S OFFICES?
SO THESE ARE ALL QUESTIONS THAT I WAS ASKING
NOT WHEN I WAS SITTING DOWN AT A COMPUTER IN THE OFFICE,
BUT OUT IN THE WORLD, IN THE STREET,
LIVING MY LIFE.
AND SO IT HAS BECOME SO INTEGRAL TO THE WAY I LIVE
TO HAVE ACCESS TO THAT KIND OF DATA,
THAT WHEN MY BLACKBERRY DIED--
IT HAD A FATAL JAVA MACHINE ERROR,
WHICH ACTUALLY KILLED THE BLACKBERRY.
DON'T ASK ME HOW.
I FELT BEREFT
FOR THE 24 HOURS IT TOOK ME TO GET A NEW BLACKBERRY.
'CAUSE NOT ONLY DID I NOT HAVE ACCESS TO MY EMAIL,
BUT I WAS ALSO LACKING ACCESS TO THE PLANETARY GLOBAL MEMORY,
WHICH, TO ME, HAS BECOME VERY IMPORTANT.
SO THIS IS AN EXAMPLE
OF THE KIND OF INTEGRATION OF THE BODY
AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.
OF COURSE SUCH INTEGRATION ONLY GOES SO FAR.
I DROPPED THIS; IT STOPPED BEING INTEGRATED WITH MY BODY.
NOW, I'M GOING TO BRING UP THIS SLIDE
WHICH IS ABOUT A MUCH DEEPER KIND OF INTEGRATION.
AND I'M AWARE THAT I'M DOING THIS JUST AFTER LUNCH,
OKAY, SO BE PREPARED TO SEE SOME RED HERE, OKAY?
NOW, THIS IS THE DEEPER LEVEL OF HUMAN COMPUTER INTEGRATION.
WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT IS A COCHLEAR IMPLANT--
AND I'LL TALK MORE ABOUT WHAT IT IS IN A MOMENT--
BUT THIS IS THE COCHLEAR IMPLANT JUST AFTER THE SURGERY
HAS BEEN COMPLETED.
AND BEFORE THE SKIN HAS BEEN STITCHED OVER THE FLAP
TO CLOSE IT UP AGAIN.
YOU KNOW, THIS IS INSIDE THE PATIENT'S SKULL.
I HAVE WORN THESE INSIDE MY SKULL.
AND SO, AS YOU CAN SEE,
THE DEVICE IS COUNTERSUNK INTO THE BONE.
THE SURGEON DRILLS OUT A HOLLOW
ABOUT THE SIZE OF THE IMPLANT,
COUNTERSINKS IT INTO PLACE,
AND TIES DOWN MEMS SUTURES
TO HOLD IT IN PLACE,
THEN DRILLS A TUNNEL THROUGH BONE TO THE INNER EAR.
AND THIS LEAD THAT YOU SEE
GOES TO A SET OF 16 ELECTRODES
THAT ARE CURLED UP INSIDE THE INNER EAR.
THOSE ELECTRODES TRIGGER THE AUDITORY NERVES
IN THE INNER EAR,
AND CREATE THE SENSATION OF HEARING.
NOW, THE REASON I HAVE TO HAVE A COCHLEAR IMPLANT--
OH, BY THE WAY, THIS IS THE ACTUAL INTERNAL CHIP ITSELF.
OKAY, SO WHEN I SEE INFORMATING, I MEAN, OKAY,
THIS IS HARDWARE, BUT IT'S ALSO SOFTWARE.
AND I'LL BE TALKING MORE ABOUT SOFTWARE.
SO IF YOU OPENED UP THE CASING,
THAT IS THE ELECTRONICS THAT YOU WOULD SEE.
BY THE WAY, THIS IS THE MODEL THAT I GOT IN MY LEFT EAR
IN 2001.
ABOUT SIX MONTHS AGO, I GOT AN UPGRADED MODEL
IN MY RIGHT EAR,
WHICH IS THE SAME ELECTRONICS WITH A DIFFERENT CASING,
BUT A DIFFERENT PACKAGE.
SO THIS IS COCHLEAR IMPLANT 101.
SO I WANT TO WALK YOU THROUGH ALL THE PIECES
SO THAT YOU UNDERSTAND HOW A COCHLEAR IMPLANT WORKS.
LET'S DO THIS FROM THE INSIDE OUT, OKAY?
I WANT TO JUST SKIP AHEAD BRIEFLY TO THE NEXT LINE
AND JUST TALK ABOUT WHY I'M DEAF.
THIS IS AN ELECTRON MICROGRAPH
OF HAIR CELLS IN THE INNER EAR.
THE INNER EAR IS A SPIRAL-SHAPED ORGAN
SHAPED LIKE A SNAIL SHELL.
IT'S CALLED THE COCHLEA.
THE WORD COCHLEA IS LATIN FOR SNAIL.
THE COCHLEA ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE A SNAIL.
AND IF YOU OPENED IT UP AND UNROLLED IT
AND GOT A MICROSCOPE AND LOOKED INSIDE,
YOU'D SEE THESE TINY LITTLE BUNDLES OF HAIR CELLS.
EACH OF THESE IS A SINGLE CELL.
OKAY, SO YOU WOULD NOT SEE THIS WITH THE NAKED EYE.
WHEN SOUND WAVES SWEEP THROUGH THE COCHLEA.
THEY MAKE THESE THINGS VIBRATE.
EACH OF THESE THINGS
IS CONNECTED TO A SET OF NERVE ENDINGS.
AND THOSE NERVES SEND INFORMATION TO THE BRAIN.
SO THIS SYSTEM TRANSLATES SOUND VIBRATIONS
INTO ELECTRICAL IMPULSES.
SO THIS IS LIKE A BIOLOGICAL TRANSDUCER.
IN A HEALTHY COCHLEA, THE HAIR CELLS
LOOK LIKE THIS.
IN A COCHLEA THAT'S BEEN AFFECTED BY VIRUSES
OR DISEASE OR ANY NUMBER OF FACTORS,
THE HAIR CELLS LOOK LIKE THIS.
IN OTHER WORDS, THEY HAVE BEEN PHYSICALLY SEPARATED
FROM THE BODY OF THE CELL.
THEY ARE UNABLE TO TRANSFER WAVE MOTION
TO THE CELL BODY.
NOW, THE NERVES REMAIN INTACT.
WHAT'S GONE IS THE MECHANICAL STRUCTURES
THAT PICK UP THE VIBRATIONS.
THAT'S WHY I'M DEAF.
SO TO COME BACK HERE, THIS IS THE COCHLEA.
SO IF YOU OPEN THAT UP, YOU'D SEE IT LINED
WITH ABOUT 3,500
OF THOSE TINY LITTLE BUNDLES OF HAIRS.
SO IN MY CASE, THE NERVE GOING TO THE BRAIN
IS PERFECTLY INTACT.
THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH IT.
WHAT'S MISSING, OF COURSE, IS THE STRUCTURES
THAT TRANSFER WAVE MOTION TO IT.
SO A COCHLEAR IMPLANT WORKS IN THE FOLLOWING WAY.
NOW I'M GONNA TAKE YOU FROM THE OUTSIDE IN.
WE'RE GOING TO START WITH THIS DEVICE.
THIS IS THE PROCESSOR.
NOW, MY PROCESSOR IS A LATER VERSION.
THIS IS THE PROCESSOR THAT I GOT BACK IN 2001.
THIS IS THE PROCESSOR THAT I WEAR NOW ON THIS EAR.
SO IT LOOKS LIKE A HEARING AID, BUT IT'S NOT A HEARING AID.
THE DEVICE NOW--
I DON'T KNOW IF THE VIDEO CAN GET CLOSE ENOUGH.
IF YOU CAN ZOOM IN ON THIS TO GET A GOOD LOOK AT IT,
THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
SO THE DEVICE HAS A MICROPHONE HERE.
THAT'S WHAT PICKS UP SOUNDS.
THE MIDDLE BODY HERE IS THE PROCESSOR ITSELF
THAT DIGITIZES THE SOUND
INTO A STRING OF ONES AND ZEROES.
THIS IS A RECHARGEABLE LITHIUM ION BATTERY.
PROVIDES THE SYSTEM WITH POWER.
AND THIS IS A RADIO TRANSMITTER,
THIS ROUND DISC.
THIS SENDS DOWN THROUGH THE SKIN TO THE IMPLANT.
IT ALSO HAS A MAGNET INSIDE IT,
SO THAT THE HEAD PIECE STICKS TO THE SKULL.
THERE IS NO-- THERE IS NO DIRECT CONNECTION.
IT'S A RADIO LINK THROUGH THE SKIN,
THROUGH INTACT SKIN.
THERE'S NOTHING PENETRATING THE SKIN.
SO THE PROCESSOR, WHICH YOU'VE JUST SEEN,
GOES TO A HEAD PIECE
WHICH STICKS AGAINST THE SKIN,
HELD IN PLACE BY A MAGNET.
SENDS RADIO DATA THROUGH THE SKIN TO THE IMPLANT.
THE IMPLANT PICKS UP THE SIGNAL WITH AN ANTENNA,
USES THAT SIGNAL TO GENERATE POWER,
AND TO PICK UP THE DATA.
SENDS THE SIGNAL DOWN THE ELECTRODE ARRAY
INTO THE COCHLEA,
AND THIS IS A CLOSE-UP INSIDE THE COCHLEA.
YOU CAN SEE HERE THE ELECTRODE ARRAY GOES INSIDE THE COCHLEA,
AND THAT THERE ARE 16 TINY ELECTRODES
ON THE INNER SURFACE
THAT FACE TOWARD THE AUDITORY NERVES
IN THE CENTER OF THE COCHLEA.
THOSE ELECTRODES FLASH ON AND OFF IN RAPID SEQUENCE
AND MAKE THE AUDITORY NERVES FIRE SIGNALS TO THE BRAIN.
NOW, I'LL BE TALKING A BIT ABOUT HOW THE SOFTWARE
IS WRITTEN THAT DECIDES
WHICH ELECTRODES TO FIRE WHEN.
BUT THAT'S THE ESSENCE OF HOW A COCHLEAR IMPLANT WORKS.
SO WHAT IT IS DOING, IT IS BYPASSING
THE BROKEN MECHANICAL STRUCTURES OF MY BRAIN
AND TRIGGERING THE NERVES IN MY INNER EAR DIRECTLY.
IT IS REPLACING THE MECHANICAL STRUCTURES
WITH COMPUTATIONAL CODE.
ANY QUESTIONS AT THIS POINT
ABOUT THE MECHANICS OF THE SYSTEM?
OKAY, LET'S GO ON.
THERE WILL BE TIME FOR QUESTIONS AFTERWARD.
NOW, I WANT TO TRY TO GIVE YOU SOME SENSE
OF WHAT THE WORLD SOUNDS LIKE TO A COCHLEAR IMPLANT USER.
SO THIS IS A SIMULATION
WRITTEN BY ARTHUR BOOTHROYD
BASED ON THE WORK OF ROBERT SHANNON.
THESE ARE SPECIALISTS IN AUDITORY SCIENCE.
SO WHAT I'M GOING TO PLAY FOR YOU IS AN ENGLISH SENTENCE
THAT HAS BEEN FILTERED ELECTRONICALLY
TO RESEMBLE DIFFERENT GENERATIONS
OF COCHLEAR IMPLANTS.
I'M GOING TO START WITH A ONE-CHANNEL IMPLANT.
AND, ROUGHLY SPEAKING, A ONE-CHANNEL IMPLANT
IS A ONE-ELECTRODE IMPLANT,
AN IMPLANT WITH A SINGLE ELECTRODE INSIDE THE COCHLEA.
NOT 16 ELECTRODES, BUT JUST ONE ELECTRODE.
SO IT'S TAKING ALL THE DATA AND PUTTING IT INTO A SINGLE SPOT
INSIDE THE COCHLEA.
THESE KIND OF IMPLANTS WERE TRIALED
BACK IN THE '70S AND THE EARLY '80S.
SO I'LL PLAY--THIS WILL GIVE YOU SOME INKLING
OF WHAT THOSE PEOPLE HEARD.
LET'S SEE.
[static]
OKAY, ANYBODY UNDERSTAND THAT?
OKAY.
TWO ELECTRODES.
[static]
ANYBODY?
OKAY, LET'S GO UP TO FOUR ELECTRODES.
[static voice]
I'LL DO IT AGAIN.
[static voice]
ANYBODY?
NOW LET'S GO TO EIGHT ELECTRODES.
NOW, WHEN I WAS FIRST ACTIVATED,
WHEN I FIRST GOT MY FIRST IMPLANT IN MY LEFT EAR,
MY SOFTWARE GAVE ME EIGHT CHANNELS
OF AUDITORY INFORMATION.
THE ELECTRODE ARRAY HAD 16 ELECTRODES,
BUT THE SOFTWARE AT THAT TIME PAIRED EACH--
THEY PUT THE TWO ELECTRODES IN PAIRS,
TAKING 16 ELECTRODES AND GIVING YOU 8 CHANNELS
OF AUDITORY INFORMATION.
SO HERE'S EIGHT CHANNELS.
(distorted voice) I LIKE TO PLAY TENNIS.
Michael: OKAY, HOW MANY PEOPLE
FEEL LIKE THEY MOSTLY UNDERSTAND IT?
OKAY.
SO IT'S AT EIGHT CHANNELS THAT PEOPLE START TO GET IT.
BY THE WAY, THERE'S FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH SHOWING
THAT YOU NEED A MINIMUM OF SIX CHANNELS
TO UNDERSTAND SPEECH.
BY COMPARISON, A NORMAL EAR GIVES THE USER
ABOUT 3,500 CHANNELS OF AUDITORY INFORMATION.
SO A COUPLE LESSONS.
FIRST, YOU CAN GIVE PEOPLE
AN EXTRAORDINARILY DEGRADED SIGNAL
AND STILL RETAIN SOME INTELLIGIBILITY.
LISTEN AGAIN.
(distorted voice) I LIKE TO PLAY TENNIS.
Michael: OKAY, IT'S NOT GREAT FIDELITY,
BUT IT'S SOMEWHAT UNDERSTANDABLE.
ABOUT A YEAR LATER, I UPGRADED TO 16 CHANNELS.
THIS WAS PURELY A SOFTWARE UPGRADE.
THERE'S NO CHANGE TO THE ELECTRODES THEMSELVES.
INSTEAD, IT JUST TOOK EACH ELECTRODE
AND GAVE EACH ELECTRODE A SINGLE AND INDIVIDUAL CHANNEL.
SO HERE'S 16 CHANNELS.
(distorted voice) I LIKE TO PLAY TENNIS.
Michael: OKAY, THAT SOUND CLEAR?
OKAY, NOW, RIGHT NOW
I AM RUNNING 16 CHANNELS IN BOTH EARS.
I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WAYS TO GET MORE CHANNELS.
BUT RIGHT NOW, I'M RUNNING 16 CHANNELS IN BOTH EARS.
TO GIVE YOU SOME IDEA OF THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN WHAT YOU HEAR AND WHAT I HEAR,
I'M NOW GONNA PLAY THE ORIGINAL, UNALTERED SOUND FILE.
woman: I LIKE TO PLAY TENNIS.
Michael: SO THAT ALLOWS YOU TO HEAR THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN WHAT I HEAR AND WHAT YOU HEAR.
NOW, THERE'S AN INTERESTING PHILOSOPHICAL CONUNDRUM,
WHICH YOU GOOGLERS MIGHT ENJOY THINKING ABOUT.
WHAT DOES A SIMULATION OF A COCHLEAR IMPLANT
SOUND LIKE TO A COCHLEAR IMPLANT USER, OKAY?
I DON'T THINK EVEN PLATO
COULD HAVE SOLVED THAT CONUNDRUM.
I'M STILL TRYING TO FIGURE IT OUT.
BUT WHAT I WILL TELL YOU
IS THAT WHEN I PLAY THE ORIGINAL,
IT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE THIS TO ME.
(distorted voice) I LIKE TO PLAY TENNIS.
Michael: TO ME, THAT SOUNDS HARSH AND GRATING.
TO ME...
woman: I LIKE TO PLAY TENNIS.
Michael: DOESN'T, OKAY?
IT SOUNDS VERY, VERY CLEAR.
PART OF THE REASON FOR THAT
IS THAT THE BRAIN IS EXTRAORDINARILY GOOD
AT FILLING IN MISSING PIECES OF DATA.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, THERE'S A WONDERFUL ARTICLE
WRITTEN BY ATUL GAWANDE
IN THE RECENT--IN THE CURRENT ISSUE OF THE NEW YORKER,
WHERE HE TALKS ABOUT HOW THE BRAIN ACTUALLY MAKES UP
A GOOD DEAL OF THE SENSORY INFORMATION THAT IT GETS.
SO THE BRAIN CAN ACTUALLY FILL IN
A GREAT DEAL OF MISSING INFORMATION.
SO WHAT I HEAR DAY-TO-DAY IS SOMETHING IN BETWEEN
THE 16-CHANNEL AND THE ORIGINAL.
OKAY, SO LET'S GO ON.
AND LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT COCHLEAR IMPLANTS
AND WHAT IMPLICATIONS THEY HAVE FOR US.
NOW, COCHLEAR IMPLANTS ARE THE MOST WIDESPREAD
NEUROTECHNOLOGY IN COMMERCIAL USE.
THERE'S A NUMBER OF NEURO TECHNOLOGIES OUT THERE,
BUT COCHLEAR IMPLANTS ARE THE BEST KNOWN,
AND MOST PEOPLE AGREE, THE MOST SUCCESSFUL.
SO RIGHT NOW, THERE ARE ABOUT 112,000 PEOPLE IN THE WORLD
WHO USE COCHLEAR IMPLANTS.
IS THAT A LOT?
WELL, IN THE UNITED STATES ALONE,
THERE ARE ABOUT HALF A MILLION PEOPLE
WHO HAVE A DEGREE OF HEARING LOSS
SIGNIFICANT ENOUGH
TO MAKE THEM CANDIDATES FOR COCHLEAR IMPLANTS.
SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FIGURES ARE FOR THE WORLD,
BUT HALF A MILLION PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY ALONE
COULD USE COCHLEAR IMPLANTS.
WORLDWIDE, THERE ARE 112,000 COCHLEAR IMPLANT USERS.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE, MANY PEOPLE
WHO COULD POTENTIALLY BENEFIT FROM IMPLANTS
DON'T HAVE THEM.
SO IF IT WAS A BIG NUMBER OR A LITTLE NUMBER,
THESE NUMBERS GIVE YOU SOME PERSPECTIVE.
NOW, LET'S TALK ABOUT
WHERE THIS KIND OF TECHNOLOGY IS TAKING US.
SO DEAFNESS IS THE LEADING INFORMATED DISABILITY.
MY BODY IS INFORMATED
BECAUSE IT CRUCIALLY DEPENDS ON DATA INPUT
FOR ITS FUNCTIONING.
THESE IMPLANTS COME OFF, I CAN'T FUNCTION
OUT IN THE HEARING WORLD.
YOU KNOW, I SHOULD SAY THAT ONE REASON
THAT I DON'T FUNCTION IN THE HEARING WORLD
IS BECAUSE I'VE NEVER LEARNED SIGN LANGUAGE.
PEOPLE WHO HAVE LEARNED SIGN LANGUAGE
CAN VERY EASILY COMMUNICATE WITH OTHER PEOPLE
WHO KNOW SIGN LANGUAGE.
HEARING IS NOT A NECESSARY ISSUE IN THAT PARTICULAR CASE.
NOW, I WILL SAY
THAT I'M ACTUALLY PLANNING TO SPEND A YEAR
AT GALLAUDET THIS COMING YEAR,
WHICH IS THE UNIVERSITY FOR THE SIGNING DEAF,
LEARNING SIGN LANGUAGE.
SO I'M ABOUT TO EXPLORE THAT OTHER WORLD.
BUT I'VE GROWN UP AS A HEARING PERSON,
SO THIS IS THE PERSPECTIVE THAT I'VE COME FROM.
YOU KNOW, THE SUCCESS OF COCHLEAR IMPLANTS
HAS INSPIRED WORK IN OTHER AREAS
TO SERVE OTHER KINDS OF DISABILITIES.
AND I'LL SHOW YOU EACH AN EXAMPLE.
THIS IS A DIAGRAM OF A RETINAL IMPLANT.
NOT A COCHLEAR IMPLANT, BUT A RETINAL IMPLANT
TO HELP THE BLIND.
NOW, PEOPLE GO BLIND FOR SOMEWHAT THE SAME REASON
THAT PEOPLE GO DEAF.
THEY LOSE THE CELLS IN THE BACK OF THEIR EYE
THAT CONVERT LIGHT INTO ELECTRICITY.
SO SIMILARLY, YOU CAN AMEND THAT
BY SENDING ELECTRICAL SIGNALS TO THE BACK OF THE RETINA.
SO YOU CAN PUT A LITTLE GRID OF ELECTRODES
IN THE BACK OF THE EYEBALL,
AND IT IS FED BY A LEAD OF ELECTRODES
TO A DEVICE BEHIND THE EAR.
THINKING NOW IT LOOKS AN AWFUL LOT LIKE A COCHLEAR IMPLANT.
AND, IN FACT, IN THE EARLY STAGE OF THE TECHNOLOGY,
IT WAS A COCHLEAR IMPLANT.
THERE ARE SOME COMPANIES THAT ACTUALLY USED A COCHLEAR IMPLANT
AS THE NEURO STIMULATOR TO BUILD RETINAL IMPLANTS.
THAT'S NO LONGER THE CASE.
THEY'RE NOW BEING PURPOSE BUILT.
BUT THE SUCCESS OF COCHLEAR IMPLANTS
HAS DIRECTLY INSPIRED WORK IN OTHER DISABILITIES.
NOW, LET'S TALK A BIT MORE ABOUT HOW THE SOFTWARE WORKS.
OKAY, 'CAUSE THIS IS GOOGLE.
OKAY, YOU GUYS ARE SOFTWARE.
SO LET'S THINK A MOMENT ABOUT THE STRUCTURE
OF THE INNER EAR.
THE INNER EAR IS LAID OUT
A LITTLE BIT LIKE A PIANO KEYBOARD
IN A SPIRAL.
AS SOUND WAVES SWEEP OFF THE COCHLEA,
THEY TRIGGER HAIR CELLS
ALL THE WAY UP THE LENGTH OF THE COCHLEA.
THE HAIR CELLS AT THE BASE OF THE COCHLEA
PICK UP LOW FREQUENCIES.
THE HAIR CELLS AT THE APEX OF THE COCHLEA
PICK UP HIGH FREQUENCIES.
BASICALLY, THE COCHLEA DISASSEMBLES SOUND
AS IT SWEEPS UP THROUGH THE COCHLEA.
IT'S A BIT LIKE A COIN SORTER.
YOU POUR A WHOLE BUNCH OF COINS INTO A COIN SORTER,
THE BIG COINS DROP OFF FIRST.
AND THEN THE LITTLE COINS DROP OUT
IN ASCENDING ORDER.
THAT'S A BIT HOW IT WORKS IN THE COCHLEA.
THE COCHLEA PULLS OUT DIFFERENT FREQUENCIES.
IT'S ALMOST LIKE THE COCHLEA WAS BUILT
FOR A COCHLEAR IMPLANT.
BECAUSE YOU CAN PUT A STRING OF 16 OR 24 ELECTRODES
INSIDE THE COCHLEA.
AND IF YOU TRIGGER THIS ELECTRODE,
THE USER WILL HEAR A LOW-FREQUENCY SOUND.
YOU TRIGGER THIS ELECTRODE,
THE USER HEARS A HIGH-FREQUENCY SOUND.
SO BY VERY ARTFUL MANIPULATION OF THESE ELECTRODES,
YOU CAN GIVE THE USER A REPRESENTATION
OF THE SOUND INFORMATION AS IT COMES THROUGH.
IT'S A REALLY REMARKABLE STORY
OF HOW THIS KIND OF SOFTWARE WAS DEVELOPED.
SO HERE'S THE QUESTION.
I HAVE 16 ELECTRODES INSIDE MY COCHLEA.
AM I STUCK WITH HAVING ONLY 16 CHANNELS
OF AUDITORY INFORMATION?
WELL, THE ANSWER IS, IN FACT, NO.
THIS IS REALLY INTERESTING HOW THIS WORKS.
IT'S POSSIBLE TO TAKE TWO ELECTRODES
AND STEER CURRENT IN BETWEEN THEM
TO CREATE VIRTUAL CHANNELS
IN BETWEEN THE PHYSICAL ELECTRODES
TO MAKE THE USER BELIEVE
THAT THERE ARE VIRTUAL ELECTRODES
IN BETWEEN EVERY PAIR OF PHYSICAL ELECTRODES.
SO LET'S ZOOM IN ON A PAIR OF PHYSICAL ELECTRODES,
AND BY VARYING THE AMOUNT OF CURRENT
THAT YOU'RE DELIVERING TO EACH ELECTRODE,
YOU CAN MAKE THE USER THINK
THERE ARE SEVEN TINY ELECTRODES IN BETWEEN THEM.
IT'S AN ASTOUNDING SOFTWARE TRICK.
THIS IS ALL BY SOFTWARE.
SO YOU CAN GIVE A USER BETTER FREQUENCY RESOLUTION
BY GIVING THEM THE ILLUSION THAT THEY HAVE MORE CHANNELS
IN THE EAR.
NOW, I ACTUALLY HAVE THE SOFTWARE RUNNING
IN MY LEFT PROCESSOR,
AND THAT PROCESSOR GIVES ME 121 CHANNELS.
AND WHAT IT DOES FOR ME IS IT ENHANCES MY ABILITY
TO ENJOY MUSIC.
I WROTE AN ARTICLE FOR "WIRED" MAGAZINE
BACK IN NOVEMBER 2005, CALLED
MY BIONIC QUEST FOR "BOLERO."
"BOLERO" IS THE FAMOUS-- SOME WOULD SAY INFAMOUS--
PIECE BY RAVEL,
UM, WHICH CAME OUT IN THE LAST CENTURY.
AND IT IS A PIECE THAT I REALLY LOVED WITH HEARING AIDS.
WHEN I HEARD IT THROUGH 16 CHANNELS,
IT SOUNDED VERY FLAT AND DULL.
BUT WHEN I UPGRADED TO 121 CHANNELS,
I GOT MY "BOLERO" BACK.
I GOT A LOT OF THE PLANGENCY
AND THE TIMBRE AND THE DELIGHT OF HEARING
THE INDIVIDUAL SOUND
THAT I HAD NOT BEEN ABLE TO HEAR BEFORE.
FOR ME, THOUGH, IT WAS A VERY PROFOUND EXPERIENCE.
SO YOU CAN GO ONLINE AND DIG OUT THAT WIRED STORY.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, I'M HAPPY TO SAY
THAT IN THE CURRENT ISSUE OF "WIRED,"
THE ONE NOW ON THE STANDS,
THERE'S A SHORT FOLLOW-UP ON PAGE 56.
'CAUSE "WIRED" IS HAVING A RETROSPECTIVE
OF SOME OF ITS MOST FAMOUS PIECES,
AND THEY WERE NICE ENOUGH TO CHOOSE MINE.
SO YOU CAN SEE THERE'S A PICTURE OF MY SKULL
AND THERE'S A PICTURE OF ME.
AND THEY'RE IN THE PHOTOGRAPHING SESSION,
AND I'M JUST THINKING, LIKE,
"I CAN'T BE LIVING THIS LIFE," YOU KNOW.
THIS IS JUST TOO COOL."
AND THEY COULDN'T REALLY STOP ME FROM SMILING
DURING THE PHOTO SHOOT.
IT WAS LIKE, "BE SERIOUS,"
AND I'M SMILING, LIKE, "I CAN'T BE SERIOUS."
OKAY, SO NOW, SO FAR WE'VE TALKED ABOUT
THE USE OF THESE KINDS OF TECHNOLOGIES
FOR DISABILITIES.
SO I NOW WANT TO START ASKING THE QUESTION,
IS IT POSSIBLE TO USE THESE KIND OF TECHNOLOGIES
TO ENHANCE PEOPLE WHO DO NOT HAVE A DISABILITY?
SO LET'S PROBE THAT QUESTION OVER THE NEXT COUPLE SLIDES
AND JUST SEE WHERE IT TAKES US.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S SOME REALLY INTERESTING WORK--
OH, BY THE WAY, I WANT TO POINT OUT,
THIS IS A BOOK COVER THAT I REALLY LOVE.
THIS IS THE 1973 COVER TO MICHAEL CRICHTON'S FIRST NOVEL,
THE TERMINAL MAN.
AND THE COVER, AS YOU CAN SEE, IT SAYS, DOWN AT THE BOTTOM,
"WATCH THIS MAN BECOME A HOMICIDAL MANIAC.
NOW A SUPER THRILLER MOVIE."
IN THE TERMINAL MAN, IN THE PLOT,
ELECTRODES ARE PUT INTO AN EPILEPTIC SKULL
TO CONTROL EPILEPTIC SEIZURES.
AND WHAT HAPPENED WAS, THE GUY LIKED IT SO MUCH
THAT HIS BRAIN STARTED TRIGGERING EPILEPTIC SEIZURES
IN ORDER TO GET THE ELECTRICAL STIMULATION,
AND IT DROVE HIM BONKERS.
SO HE BECAME A HOMICIDAL MANIAC.
BUT THESE WERE THE KIND OF FRANKENSTEIN FEARS
THAT WERE ARTICULATED ABOUT IMPLANTED TECHNOLOGIES
BACK IN 1973.
AND YOU'LL NOTICE--I THINK IT'S REALLY ENTERTAINING--
HOW SIMILAR THAT COVER IS
TO MY COVER, OKAY?
EXCEPT THE SUBTITLE IS,
HOW BECOMING PART COMPUTER MADE ME MORE HUMAN,
AS OPPOSED TO BEING A HOMICIDAL MANIAC.
I DON'T KNOW, I'M A HOMICIDAL MANIAC AS A HOBBY SOMETIMES.
BUT NOT NORMALLY.
BUT ANYWAY, BUT I ENJOYED THE KIND OF CULTURAL SHIFT.
YOU KNOW, I CONSCIOUSLY WANTED TO ADDRESS
THAT SCIENCE FICTION TROPE OF THE CYBORG
AS BEING THIS FIGURE OF SINISTER EVIL.
OKAY, I'M ARGUABLY A CYBORG.
I ACTUALLY HAVE COMPUTERS IN MY HEAD.
BUT I'M NOT--NOT ON MOST DAYS A HOMICIDAL MANIAC,
I'M HAPPY TO SAY.
ANYWAY, INFORMATING IS BEGINNING TO BE APPLIED TO THE BRAIN.
IN MY COCHLEAR IMPLANT, WHAT'S BEING INFORMATED
IS MY INNER EAR.
IT'S EAR SURGERY. IT'S NOT BRAIN SURGERY.
THE ELECTRODES GO WITHIN A MILLIMETER OF THE BRAIN,
BUT THEY DON'T GO INTO MY BRAIN.
THERE ARE NOW, HOWEVER, PEOPLE DEVELOPING TECHNOLOGIES
THAT PUT ELECTRODES INTO THE MOTOR CORTEX
OR TO OTHER PARTS OF THE BRAIN
TO PICK UP THE BRAIN'S MOTOR ACTIVITY
AND SEND IT TO A PROSTHETIC LIMB.
SO I WANT TO TALK ABOUT ABOUT SOME OF THAT KIND OF REASEARCH.
UM, AS A MATTER OF FACT,
I'M GONNA CHANGE MY SEQUENCE A LITTLE BIT.
I WANNA SKIP AHEAD TO A REALLY, REALLY COOL SLIDE.
SO BEAR WITH ME A MOMENT.
I'M JUST GONNA JUMP AHEAD.
OKAY, I WANT TO SHOW YOU THIS FASCINATING VIDEO, OKAY?
AND I'M AWARE THAT THERE ARE SOME VIDEO ISSUES HERE,
SO THIS MAY HAVE TO BE EDITED TO GET THE PICTURE.
YOU KNOW, THIS IS A VIDEO THAT I SAW ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO
WHEN I GAVE A TALK AT BROWN UNIVERSITY.
AND THE GUY FROM DARPA,
WHICH IS THE DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECT AGENCY--
SOMETHING LIKE THAT--
WAS SHOWING THESE EYE-POPPING VIDEOS OF VETERANS,
OF AMPUTEES USING PROSTHETIC LIMBS.
AND I HAD SEEN EARLIER PROSTHETIC LIMBS,
AND THEY'RE THESE CLUNKY AFFAIRS WHERE BASICALLY
ALL YOU CAN DO IS REACH OUT AND GRAB SOMETHING
AND MOVE IT FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER.
IT DOESN'T DO VERY MUCH FOR YOU.
BUT DARPA'S BEEN POURING A LOT OF MONEY
INTO THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROSTHETIC LIMBS
FOR REASONS THAT ARE ALL TOO TRAGICALLY OBVIOUS.
SO I'M GONNA PLAY THIS VIDEO FOR YOU.
NOW, WHAT YOU'RE GONNA SEE, YOU KNOW,
THESE LIMBS ARE STRAP-ON LIMBS.
THEY'RE NOT PHYSICALLY INTEGRATED WITH THE BODY.
THEY SIT OUTSIDE THE BODY.
AND SO WHEN THE USER MOVES THEIR MUSCLES,
IT PICKS UP SIGNALS FROM THEIR SKIN
AND TRANSLATES THAT INTO COMMANDS TO THE BIONIC ARM.
SO THEY ARE, IN A WAY, CONTROLLING IT
WITH THEIR VOLUNTARY-- WITH THEIR MIND.
THEY'RE CONTROLLING IT BECAUSE THE SYSTEM
IS READING THE NERVE IMPULSES COMING FROM THEIR BODY
AND DECIDING HOW TO TRANSLATE THAT
INTO THE MULTIPLE MOTIONS NEEDED TO CONTROL AN ARM.
SO WATCH.
WHEN I SAW THIS VIDEO, I WAS JUST FLOORED.
YOU CAN SEE THE DEGREE OF CONTROL THEY HAVE
OVER THE MOTION OF THE LIMB.
THE REAL ACHIEVEMENT HERE IS NOT SO MUCH
THE ENGINEERING OF THE LIMB ITSELF.
IF YOU GO TO AN AUTO ASSEMBLY PLANT, FOR EXAMPLE,
YOU CAN SEE THAT THE ROBOT ARMS ARE INCREDIBLY FAST
AND INCREDIBLY AGILE.
THE REAL ACHIEVEMENT HERE
IS PICKING UP WHAT THE USER WANTS TO DO--
THE NERVE IMPULSES--
AND TRANSLATING THAT INTO HOW THE LIMB BEHAVES.
SO WHEN YOU SEE THESE LITTLE HESITATIONS
IN HOW THE LIMB WORKS,
THAT'S NOT BECAUSE OF THE MECHANICAL ISSUES
IN THE ARM ITSELF,
IT'S BECAUSE THE ARM IS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO READ
WHAT THE USER WANTS THE ARM TO DO.
SO THAT'S THE REAL MAGIC IN WHAT'S GOING ON HERE.
THE HARDWARE IS AMAZING.
THE SOFTWARE IS EVEN MORE SO.
BECAUSE THE SOFTWARE HAS TO READ WHAT NERVES ARE SENDING
TO THE LIMB, TO THE STUMP.
SAY, "OKAY, THIS MEANS THE USER WANTS TO DO THIS."
OR THIS. OR THAT.
THAT IS THE REAL MIRACLE HERE.
SO THIS PARTICULAR CASE WITH THESE LIMBS,
THE--IS READING FROM THE SKIN.
BUT THERE'S ANOTHER GROUP AT JOHNS HOPKINS
THAT IS DEVELOPING CHIPS THAT WILL GO INSIDE THE STUMP
AND ACTUALLY DIRECTLY CONNECT WITH THE NERVES
AND SEND THAT INFORMATION TO A PROSTHETIC LIMB.
SO THIS REALLY IS
THE INFORMATING OF THE HUMAN BODY
TO DRAW A PROSTHETIC LIMB.
IT'S AN ASTOUNDING, ASTOUNDING TECHNOLOGY.
NOW, DARPA, OKAY.
OBVIOUSLY THEY WANT TO USE IT
TO HELP SOLDIERS WHO HAVE LOST LIMBS.
BUT THEY HAVE ALSO ARTICULATED THE GOAL
OF SOMEDAY MAKING THESE SO GOOD
THAT THEY'D BE USABLE TO PEOPLE WITH NORMAL LIMBS
TO ENHANCE THEIR LIMBS
TO GIVE THEM MORE POWER OR MORE REACH
OR MORE CONTROL.
SO THEY CLEARLY HAVE THE GOAL
OF GOING FURTHER WITH THIS TECHNOLOGY
THAN HELPING PEOPLE WHO HAVE TRAGICALLY LOST LIMBS.
SO LET'S GO BACK NOW
AND TALK ABOUT SOME WILDER IDEAS.
AS I SAID, ONE OF THE BIG CHALLENGES
IS NOT JUST MECHANICAL,
IT'S AN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CHALLENGE.
IT'S HOW YOU READ ALL THE DIFFERENT THINGS
THE BRAIN IS DOING.
HOW YOU TRANSLATE THAT INTO SOMETHING
THAT HAPPENS IN THE OUTSIDE WORLD.
SO PEOPLE ARE BEGINNING TO TALK ABOUT HOW YOU DO THAT.
I SHOWED YOU BEFORE THAT ARRAY, WHICH HAS 100 ELECTRODES.
THAT ARRAY, UM, THIS ARRAY HERE,
HAS 100 ELECTRODES.
EACH ELECTRODE READS DATA FROM A SINGLE NEURON.
AND YOU CAN ACTUALLY GET
A GREAT DEAL OF CONTROL THAT WAY.
THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE, UM, UH, TETRAPLEGICS,
WHO CAN'T MOVE ANY OF THEIR LIMBS,
WHO WITH THESE CHIPS ARE ABLE TO POINT CURSORS
TO SPECIFIC PLACES ON A COMPUTER SCREEN
TO CLICK ON THINGS.
SO YOU CAN DO A LOT WITH JUST 100 NEURONS.
WELL, PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO THINK ABOUT
HOW CAN YOU GET MORE INFORMATION OUT OF THE BRAIN?
WELL, I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO BE INVOLVED
IN A PBS PRODUCTION ABOUT THIS ISSUE.
AND SO WE TALKED WITH TWO PEOPLE.
UM, A PERSON NAMED PATRICK ANQUETIL,
WHO'S A POST-DOC AT MIT,
AND RODOLFO LLINAS,
WHO'S A PROFESSOR OF NEUROSCIENCE AT NYU.
AND THEY SHARED WITH US SOME OF THEIR UTOPIAN IDEAS
ON HOW WOULD YOU GET INFORMATION OUT OF THE BRAIN
ON A MASSIVE SCALE.
SO I'LL PLAY YOU THIS VIDEO.
THIS IS FROM THE PBS SPECIAL, UH, "THE 22ND CENTURY,"
WHICH AIRED IN JANUARY '07.
(Rodolfo Llinas) A LOT OF EXCITEMENT,
BECAUSE FOR THE FIRST TIME,
THERE WAS A WAY TO ACCESS THE BRAIN
WITHOUT NEVER TOUCHING IT.
AND THE BRAIN, BEING SUCH A VITAL ORGAN,
UH, IT'S QUITE UNDERSTANDABLE.
YOU WANT TO LEAVE IT ALONE.
SO THE TECHNOLOGY IS THERE.
NOW THE QUESTION WOULD BE,
"YES, BUT CAN YOU ACTUALLY PUT NANO WIRES
EXACTLY AT THE PLACE YOU WANT?"
THE ANSWER IS NO, YOU CAN'T.
BUT...NANO WIRES ARE VERY SMALL.
Patrick Anquetil: SO 500 NANOMETER--
500 NANOMETERS IS VERY SMALL.
IF YOU THINK OF IT, THAT'S ABOUT, UM,
YOU KNOW, 100 TIMES LESS, UH,
THAN THE THICKNESS OF YOUR HAIR.
HOW DO YOU PUSH THE ELECTRODE TO THE BRAIN?
(Rodolfo) SO WHAT YOU DO IS YOU ACTUALLY
SEND A CERTAIN NUMBER OF THEM.
YOU HAVE A BUNDLE, AND THEN THE BUNDLE
UH, WOULD BE--
THE NANO WIRES WOULD BE ALLOWED TO--
TO FLOAT INTO THE BLOODSTREAM
UNTIL THEY CAN GO NO FURTHER.
AT THE MOMENT, WE CAN WIRE A RAT.
WE CAN LEAVE THE ELECTRODES IN THE SPINAL CORD.
WE WANT TO KNOW, IF WE DO SO,
HOW LONG DID THE WIRES CONTINUE TO WORK PROPERLY?
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UH, FIVE YEARS...
WORTH OF VERY BASIC RESEARCH
THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE.
(Michael) SO IT'S A PRETTY AUDACIOUS IDEA,
AS YOU CAN SEE.
SO HOW FEASIBLE IS THAT?
I'VE TALKED TO SOME SCIENTISTS WHO SAY,
"LOOK, THAT'S--THAT'S OUT OF THE QUESTION."
AND EVEN ME, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT A SCIENTIST.
I'M A SCIENCE WRITER.
BUT I CAN LOOK AT IT AND SAY,
"MY GOD, WHAT ABOUT BLOOD CLOTTING?
HOW DO YOU GUIDE EACH LEAD TO WHERE YOU WANT IT TO GO?"
THERE ARE OTHER CERTAIN FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS.
HOW DO YOU CONSTRUCT A NANO WIRE THIN ENOUGH
TO CONDUCT ELECTRICITY?
HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THE INSULATION PROBLEM?
SO THERE ARE ALL SORTS OF TECHNICAL PROBLEMS
THAT MAKE THIS IMPOSSIBLE TODAY.
BUT I'LL POINT OUT THAT THESE EXACT SAME OBJECTIONS
WERE ARTICULATED TOWARD COCHLEAR IMPLANTS
BACK IN THE 1970S.
MANY OUTER OTOLARYNGOLOGISTS AND ENTs SAID
NO WAY COULD YOU GET ELECTRODES INSIDE THE INNER EAR.
NO WAY COULD YOU GET ENOUGH COMPUTATIONAL POWER
INSIDE THE BODY TO DRIVE THEM.
NO WAY COULD YOU SUPPLY ENOUGH POWER TO THE SYSTEM
TO MAKE IT WORK.
AND ALL OF THESE ISSUES WERE SOLVED ONE BY ONE.
IT TOOK 30 YEARS TO DO IT,
BUT THOSE ISSUES WERE INDEED SOLVED.
SO ONE SUGGESTION THAT I WANT TO MAKE
IS THAT HIS KIND OF TECHNOLOGY
MAY GO THROUGH THE SAME TRAJECTORY
AS COCHLEAR IMPLANTS DO
TO BECOME FEASIBLE AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE.
SO THERE ARE SOME OTHER IDEAS TOO.
LET ME PRESENT ONE OF THEM TO YOU.
THIS JUST CAME OUT ON MAY 1, 2008.
AND I DISCOVERED THIS JUST BY ACCIDENT, ACTUALLY.
JUST BROWSING AROUND.
MAY 1, 2008.
AND THIS IS A PATENT APPLICATION
BY A COMPANY CALLED, UM... LET ME SEE.
IT'S, UH...
INTELLECTUAL VENTURES.
IN FACT, THERE WAS A MAJOR NEW YORKER ARTICLE
ABOUT THEM JUST A MONTH OR TWO AGO,
WRITTEN MALCOLM GLADWELL.
SO I DUG OUT THIS PARTICULAR PATENT APPLICATION,
AND IT IS TITLED
LUMEN-TRAVELING BIOLOGICAL INTERFACE DEVICE.
NOW, A LUMEN IS A SURFACE. OKAY?
SO I WAS THINKING,
OKAY, LUMEN-TRAVELING BIOLOGICAL INTERFACE DEVICE.
WHAT'S THAT?
SO I STARTED READING THE APPLICATION.
AND BASICALLY, IT'S THIS.
SO THE IDEA IS TO CREATE THESE TINY LITTLE ROBOTS
THAT WOULD--THAT HAVE LITTLE MOTORS ON THEM
THAT WOULD ACTUALLY CRAWL THROUGH BLOOD VESSELS
TO A GIVEN LOCATION.
AND THEN WITH SENSORS ACTUALLY LISTEN TO NERVE IMPULSES
OR DO OTHER THINGS--
DELIVER MEDICATIONS, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
THE IDEA IS THAT SOMEDAY YOU MIGHT HAVE TINY LITTLE ROBOTS
CRAWLING THROUGH YOUR BODY TO PARTICULAR LOCATIONS
TO COLLECT DATA, SEND DATA,
UM, PRODUCE MEDICATIONS, AND SO FORTH.
SO AGAIN, THIS IDEA IS OBVIOUSLY HIGHLY SPECULATIVE.
OKAY, AGAIN, YOU HAVE TO WONDER ABOUT,
"WELL, WHAT ABOUT BLOOD CLOTTING?"
WHAT IF THEY GET STUCK? HOW DO YOU GET THEM OUT AGAIN?"
THERE'S ALL SORTS OF ISSUES HERE.
BUT I THINK WHAT'S INTERESTING AND I THINK WHAT'S IMPORTANT
IS THAT PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO COME UP WITH THESE CONCEPTS.
THE CONCEPT HAS TO COME FIRST.
BECAUSE, REALLY, IN MY FIRST BOOK,
IN REBUILT: HOW BECOME PART COMPUTER MADE ME MORE HUMAN,
I ACTUALLY SURVEYED SOME OF THESE IDEAS.
AND I CONCLUDED THAT IT WAS COMPLETE NONSENSE.
BECAUSE NOBODY HAD ARTICULATED AN ENGINEERING PATH
THAT MIGHT MAKE THESE IDEAS FEASIBLE.
NOW THESE IDEAS ARE STARTING TO COME OUT.
AND THIS IS WHAT I'M GONNA BE WRITING ABOUT
IN MY NEXT BOOK.
THE IDEAS ARE IMPORTANT.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE A CONCEPT,
BECAUSE THAT CREATES THE DESIRE TO MAKE IT A REALITY.
SO I'LL COME BACK TO THE LIST OF PEOPLE
TO THE, UM, TO THE INVENTORS.
IT'S A PRETTY DISTINGUISHED LIST OF NAMES.
PEOPLE LIKE BRAN FERREN, DANNY HILLIS,
THE CONNECTION MACHINE,
UH, LET'S SEE, NATHAN MYHRVOLD,
USED TO BE AT MICROSOFT.
SO SOME REALLY INTERESTING QUESTIONS.
UM, WHY ARE THEY TRYING TO PATENT A DEVICE LIKE THIS
WHEN THE TECHNOLOGY DOESN'T YET EXIST
TO ACTUALLY BUILD A PROTOTYPE OF IT?
SO THESE ARE QUESTIONS I'M ASKING,
TO WHICH I WILL HOPEFULLY BE ABLE TO FIND THE ANSWERS
FOR MY BOOK.
SO LET'S TALK ABOUT QUESTIONS.
OH, BUT FIRST OF ALL, LET'S TALK ABOUT MIND READING.
THIS IS A SLIDE THAT I JUST STUCK IN.
SO, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO HAVE READING MINDS.
I MEAN, THAT'S WHAT THIS TECHNOLOGY IS ABOUT.
IT'S ABOUT READING INTENTIONS AND DOING SOMETHING WITH THEM
IN THE OUTSIDE WORLD.
SO HERE IS AN EXPERIMENT
THAT WAS WRITTEN UP LAST YEAR
WHERE PATIENTS WERE-- RATHER, SUBJECTS--
WERE PUT INTO A FUNCTIONAL MRI MACHINE.
AND THEY WERE ASKED TO DO A CERTAIN TASK.
AND HERE IS THE TASK.
THEY WERE SHOWN A SLIDE SAYING "SELECT."
AND WHEN THEY SAW THAT SLIDE,
THEY HAD TO DECIDE WHETHER THEY WERE GOING TO ADD OR SUBTRACT
THE TWO NUMBERS THAT THEY WOULD THEN BE SHOWN.
THEY WOULD HAVE TO MAKE THAT DECISION--
"I'M GOING TO ADD, I'M GOING TO SUBTRACT"--
AND HOLD THAT INTENTION IN THEIR MIND.
AND THE SECOND SLIDE SHOWS TWO NUMBERS.
THEY THEN PERFORMED THE COMPUTATION
THAT THEY HAD CHOSEN.
AND THEN IN THE THIRD SLIDE,
THEY WERE GIVEN FOUR POSSIBLE ANSWERS.
AND THEY CHOSE THE ANSWER THAT CORRESPONDED
WITH THE ANSWER THAT THEY CAME UP WITH.
THAT TOLD THE EXPERIMENTERS WHICH CHOICE THAT THEY HAD MADE.
ALL OF THIS WAS PURELY AN INTERNAL MENTAL PROCESS,
A COMPLETELY PRIVATE EXPERIENCE.
YOU'RE LYING INSIDE THE TUBE OF AN MRI SCANNER.
IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S CLAUSTROPHOBIC,
YOU'RE ENCLOSED, YOU'RE NOT TALKING TO ANYBODY,
YOU'RE NOT DOING ANYTHING THAT ANYONE ELSE WOULD SEE.
YOU WERE MAKING THE DECISION IN THE PRIVACY OF YOUR OWN MIND
WHETHER TO ADD OR TO SUBTRACT.
WHILE YOU'RE DOING THAT, THE MRI MACHINE
IS WATCHING YOUR BRAIN'S ACTIVITY.
IT'S WATCHING THE ACTIVITY OF BLOOD FLOW IN YOUR BRAIN.
AND IT SO HAPPENS THAT THE DECISION TO ADD
HAS A DISTINCTIVELY DIFFERENT NEURO PATTERN
THAN THE DECISION TO SUBTRACT.
AND THE APPROPRIATE SIGNAL PROCESSING
THAT DIFFERENCE CAN RELOCATE 'EM.
SO IT WAS POSSIBLE TO DESIGN AN ALGORITHIM
THAT WAS ABLE TO PREDICT WITH 71% ACCURACY
WHETHER THE SUBJECTS HAD DECIDED TO ADD OR TO SUBTRACT.
SO IT WAS A REAL MIND READER.
NOW, LET ME JUST ADDRESS
BOTH HOW LIMITED AND HOW PROFOUND THAT IS.
IT'S PROFOUND BECAUSE IT REALLY IS READING A THOUGHT.
A THOUGHT IS THE MOST PRIVATE THING
THAT EXISTS IN HUMAN EXPERIENCE.
BUT NOW THAT THOUGHT, THAT ACTION OF THINKING,
IS BECOMING ACCESSIBLE WITH TOOLS.
BUT IT'S ALSO LIMITED.
BECAUSE THE ALGORITHMS
ONLY IDENTIFIED TWO PARTICULAR PATTERNS:
ADD OR SUBTRACT.
IF THE SUBJECT HAD THOUGHT "MULTIPLY"
OR "I WANT TO GO TO DISNEY WORLD"
OR "I WANT TO WORK AT GOOGLE,"
THE MACHINE WOULD HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE USER WAS THINKING.
SO IT IS MIND READING,
ALTHOUGH MIND READING OF A VERY LIMITED KIND.
BUT THE SUGGESTION THAT I'M MAKING
IS THAT MAYBE IT WOULD BECOME POSSIBLE TO DO
MORE AMBITIOUS FORMS OF MIND READING.
SO IN--SO TO BEGIN WRAPPING UP HERE,
SO IN MY BOOK WORLD WIDE MIND:
THE COMING INTEGRATION OF MINDS AND MACHINES,
I'M GONNA BE ASKING THESE QUESTIONS.
QUESTIONS LIKE:
CAN WE GO BEYOND "IF PATTERN X, THEN STIMULUS Y" KIND OF ACTION
TO READ CONSCIOUS EXPERIENCE IN AN OPEN-ENDED WAY?
RIGHT NOW, ALL THE RESEARCH IS ABOUT THAT
"IF NEURO PATTERN X, THEN USER MEANS Y.
IF PATTERN X, THEN USER WANTS TO DO THIS.
IF PATTERN Z, THEN USER WANTS TO THINK ADD."
OKAY, SO IT'S VERY ONE TO ONE.
IT'S LINEAR.
IT'S REALLY JUST PATTERN RECOGNITION.
AND OF COURSE GOOGLE KNOWS ALL ABOUT PATTERN RECOGNITION.
THE QUESTION IS, CAN WE GO BEYOND THAT PARADIGM
TO ACTUALLY DETECT WHAT A PERSON'S THINKING,
WHAT A PERSON IS FEELING?
I'M SKEPTICAL.
BUT I THINK THIS IS A QUESTION WHOSE TIME HAS COME.
IT'S TIME TO BEGIN EXPLORING THIS KIND OF QUESTION
IN A SYSTEMATIC WAY,
FIGURING OUT, "HOW DO WE ASK SUCH A QUESTION?"
THE QUESTION ITSELF IS SO PROFOUND
THAT I THINK IT WOULD BE A MAJOR CONTRIBUTION
JUST TO ASK IT.
SECOND, CAN THE OUTPUT OF SUCH AN OPEN-ENDED READING
INPUT INTO ANOTHER BRAIN
SO THAT IT HAS A SIMILAR EXPERIENCE?
THAT IS, IF I SEE RED, WILL YOU SEE RED?
IF I SEE A GIRAFFE, WILL YOU, HOOKED UP TO ME,
SEE A GIRAFFE?
I'M DEEPLY SKEPTICAL, ACTUALLY,
BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF RESEARCH SHOWING
THAT WHAT WE THINK OF AS SENSORY INPUT
COMING FROM THE OUTSIDE WORLD
IS ACTUALLY TO A SHOCKINGLY-HIGH DEGREE
MADE UP BY THE BRAIN ITSELF.
THE BRAIN IS BASICALLY AN EXPECTATION MACHINE.
THE BRAIN EXPECTS TO SEE STUFF.
AND IT FILLED IN WHAT IT EXPECTS TO SEE.
THAT'S WHY EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY IS SO UNRELIABLE.
BECAUSE OFTEN PEOPLE LITERALLY SEE THINGS THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN,
BECAUSE THEY SEE WHAT THEY EXPECTED TO SEE.
YOU DIDN'T SEE WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED.
SO WE KNOW--
ASKING THIS QUESTION REQUIRES US
TO DELVE INTO THE NEUROSCIENCE
OF HOW THE BRAIN PERCEIVES.
AND THAT'S A QUESTION I'M GOING TO BE DELVING INTO
IN "WORLD WIDE MIND."
AND FINALLY, HOW WOULD SUCH A TECHNOLOGY
BE USED TO COMMUNICATE IN NEW WAYS?
NOW, AS WE ALL KNOW,
EMAIL ON THE WEB
OPENED A PROFOUNDLY NEW KIND OF COMMUNICATION.
WHEN I WAS GROWING UP,
I WOULD WRITE A LETTER MAYBE ONCE OR TWICE A MONTH.
OKAY?
AND NOW, OF COURSE, WE ALL ROUTINELY WRITE FAR MORE EMAILS
THAN PEOPLE WROTE LETTERS BACK 15 OR 20 YEARS AGO.
IT'S RADICALLY CHANGED THE WAY WE COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER.
THE QUESTION I WANTED TO ASK
IS WHERE COULD THIS TECHNOLOGY TAKE US?
COULD IT TAKE US TO A PLACE
WHERE WE COULD EXPERIENCE EACH OTHER,
COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER,
KNOW EACH OTHER
IN WAYS THAT CAN ONLY DIMLY BE IMAGINED TODAY.
SO TO WRAP UP, IN MY FINAL SLIDE
I WANT TO CONNECT SOME OF THESE DOTS.
LET'S REVIEW THE TRAJECTORY THAT WE HAVE GONE THROUGH.
WE STARTED IN THIS TALK WITH DISABILITY.
WE STARTED WITH DEAFNESS.
WE STARTED WITH THINGS THAT DON'T WORK.
AND WE HAVE GONE FROM THERE
TO THE CONCEPT OF INFORMATING THE BODY.
AND, BY THE WAY, I'VE BEEN PAYING ATTENTION
TO GOOGLE HEALTH.
I THINK THAT IS A STEP TO INFORMATING THE BODY,
BECAUSE GOOGLE HEALTH IS ABOUT RECORDING
A GREAT DEAL OF INFORMATION
ABOUT A PERSON'S HEALTH
AND MAKING THAT TRANSFERRABLE IN VARIOUS WAYS.
IT MAY BE ONLY A SHORT STEP, HISTORICALLY SPEAKING,
TO ACTUALLY GET THE DATA FROM THE BODY ITSELF,
RATHER THAN JUST FROM DOCTOR'S CHECKUPS,
AND USE THAT DATA IN VARIOUS WAYS.
THAT, IN TURN, BROUGHT US TO TALKING ABOUT
NEW KINDS OF COMMUNICATION,
PARTICULARLY WITH MECHANICAL DEVICES.
IF YOU CAN CONTROL A PROSTHETIC LIMB WITH YOUR THOUGHTS,
THEN IT STANDS TO REASON YOU COULD ALSO CONTROL A CAR,
AN AIRPLANE, A COMPUTER.
IT WOULD BE A WONDERFUL, GREAT THING FOR MANY PEOPLE
TO BE ABLE TO TYPE BY THINKING.
I WOULD SIGN UP FOR THAT IMMEDIATELY, OKAY?
SO I'M CALLING THAT, HUMOROUSLY, GOOGLE OPERATING SYSTEM.
BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT GOOGLE
IS DEVELOPING THE OPERATING SYSTEM OF THE COMING CENTURY.
AND I THINK THAT BRINGING HUMAN BEINGS, BRINGING HUMAN BODIES,
COULD BE AN INTEGRAL PART OF THAT WORK.
INFORMATING THE BODY,
BRINGING IT INTO THE GLOBAL INFORMATION ECONOMY.
RIGHT NOW, WE ONLY REACH THE GLOBAL INFORMATION ECONOMY
THROUGH OUR FINGERS, THROUGH OUR EYES,
THROUGH OUR MOUTHS.
WE DON'T REACH IT THROUGH OUR BODIES IN AN INTERNAL WAY.
I THINK THAT MAY CHANGE.
AND FINALLY, WE CAME TO ENHANCEMENT.
AND I'VE BEEN JUST ADDRESSING SOME ISSUES OF ENHANCEMENT.
TO BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH PEOPLE IN NEW WAYS,
TO CONTROL DEVICES IN WAYS WHICH WERE NOT POSSIBLE BEFORE.
SO THE POINT THAT I'M MAKING HERE
IS THAT DISABILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY,
WHICH SEEMED LIKE SIDELINES,
CAN ACTUALLY MOVE TO THE CENTER AND BECOME THE CORE
OF WHAT PEOPLE THINK ABOUT.
THE CORE OF NEW INNOVATIONS.
I THINK IT'S AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT POINT.
OKAY, WELL, WITH THAT, I'M GONNA WRAP UP.
BUT THERE'S JUST A LITTLE REMINDER HERE, OKAY.
AS I PLAYED FOR YOU THE SIMULATION
AND YOU SAW HOW CLUNKY 16 CHANNELS SOUNDED
COMPARED TO THE ORIGINAL-- PLAY IT AGAIN.
(distorted voice) I LIKE TO PLAY TENNIS.
(Michael) THE ORIGINAL.
(woman) I LIKE TO PLAY TENNIS.
(Michael) SO YOU HEAR IN SOME WAYS
HOW FAR WE STILL FALL SHORT.
BUT YOU CAN ALSO HEAR HOW FAR WE HAVE COME.
[static]
THAT'S WHERE THE FIELD OF COCHLEAR IMPLANTS WAS
IN THE MIDDLE '70S.
AND IT IS GONE TO HERE...
(distorted voice) I LIKE TO PLAY TENNIS.
(Michael) AND BEYOND WITH 121 CHANNELS
IN ABOUT 30 YEARS.
I WOULD LIKE TO THINK IN THE NEXT 30 YEARS...
(woman) I LIKE TO PLAY TENNIS.
(Michael) WE GET HERE AND BEYOND.
SO WITH THAT, I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU,
AND THERE'S MY WEB SITE SO YOU CAN GO THERE
AND FIND MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT I'M DOING.
THANK YOU ALL.
[applause]
SO WE HAVE ABOUT EIGHT MINUTES FOR Q&A.
SO I'M HAPPY TO-- TO TAKE QUESTIONS.
(man) IS THERE ANY TECHNOLOGY THAT'S...
(Michael) OKAY, WAIT. OKAY, THERE, THANK YOU, OKAY.
(man) IS THERE ANY TECHNOLOGY
THAT LETS BOTH OF YOUR EARS COORDINATE WITH EACH OTHER
TO EFFECTIVELY GET MORE CHANNELS?
(Michael) OKAY, GREAT QUESTION.
THE QUESTION IS: IS THERE A TECHNOLOGY
THAT ALLOWS MY EARS TO COMMUNICATE TOGETHER?
OKAY, AND AS YOU NOTICED, I HAVE TWO COCHLEAR IMPLANTS.
I'M BILATERAL.
AND I'M RECENTLY BILATERAL.
THE ANSWER IS NO.
THE TWO IMPLANTS ARE COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT.
THEY DO THEIR THING SEPARATELY.
THEY HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE THAT THE OTHER IMPLANT IS THERE.
AND THAT'S ACTUALLY A SIGNIFICANT ISSUE
FOR THE FOLLOWING REASON.
THE ELECTRODE RATE REFRESHES THE ELECTRODES
ABOUT 5,000 TIMES PER SECOND.
SO IN OTHER WORDS, THERE'S A FRAME RATE
TO EACH ELECTRODE RATE.
THE FRAME RATES OF BOTH IMPLANTS
ARE NOT IN SYNC WITH EACH OTHER.
SO I MAY BE GETTING INPUT ON ONE SIDE
AT ONE MICROSECOND--
ONE MILLISECOND, RATHER--
AND THEN GET THE SAME INFORMATION A MILLISECOND BEHIND
IN THE OTHER EAR.
SO THEY'RE NOT ACTUALLY IN SYNC.
SO MY EARS ARE DELIVERING INFORMATION TO THE BRAIN
IN WAYS WHICH ARE SCATTERED, SO TO SPEAK.
AND THERE HAS BEEN TALK OF GETTING THE TWO IMPLANTS
TO COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER--
SAY WITH BLUETOOTH TECHNOLOGIES--
TO KEEP THEM IN SYNCHRONIZATION WITH EACH OTHER.
THAT MIGHT BE ESPECIALLY HELPFUL FOR DIRECTIONALITY.
BECAUSE--SO LET'S SAY SOMEBODY SPEAKS TO ME FROM HERE.
THE SOUND REACHES THIS EAR FIRST.
AND THEN A FEW FRACTIONS OF A SECOND LATER,
IT REACHES THIS EAR SECOND.
THE BRAIN USES THAT TIME DIFFERENCE
TO TELL WHERE A SOUND IS COMING FROM.
BUT TO DO SO,
IT HAS TO WORK WITH UNITS OF TIME.
THAT ARE SMALLER THAN FIVE THOUSANDTHS OF A SECOND.
OKAY, SO I CAN DO SOME, UH, SOME LOCALIZING.
SO I CAN TELL TO SOME EXTENT WHERE SOUND IS COMING FROM.
BUT IT'S BEEN HYPOTHESIZED THAT WITH SYNCHRONIZATION,
I WOULD HAVE MUCH BETTER ABILITY TO LOCALIZE.
SO THIS IS CERTAINLY IN DISCUSSION, YES.
GOOD QUESTION. THANK YOU.
AND ANY OTHER QUESTIONS?
(man) I READ YOUR ARTICLE ABOUT BOLERO,
AND I DECIDED I WILL COME TO HEAR
ANYTHING THAT YOU HAVE TO SAY.
UM, ARE YOU CONTINUING WITH EXPERIMENTS WITH TECHNOLOGY?
I--I REMEMBER JUST YOUR TRYING OUT DIFFERENT SOFTWARE
AND VERY EAGER TO TRY THE NEXT ONE.
(Michael) YEAH, AM I FOOLING AROUND WITH MY SOFTWARE?
UM, TO SOME EXTENT, OKAY.
MY ABILITY TO CONTROL MY SOFTWARE IS LIMITED
BECAUSE I CAN ONLY DO IT THROUGH AN AUDIOLOGIST.
I CAN'T SIT DOWN AT THE COMPUTER MYSELF
AND START MESSING WITH MY OWN CURRENT.
UM, IT WOULD BE LOVELY IF I COULD DO THAT.
BUT THERE'S ALL SORTS OF OBSTACLES,
LIKE ONE BEING THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, OKAY.
BECAUSE IT IS PUTTING ELECTRICAL ENERGY INTO YOUR HEAD.
SO, YEAH, THE FDA DOESN'T REALLY
WANT PATIENTS PLAYING AROUND WITH THEIR OWN NEUROTECHNOLOGY.
UM, BUT I CAN CERTAINLY DO IT AT A REMOVE
THROUGH AUDIOLOGISTS.
THE OTHER THING IS MY GRASP WITH C++ IS WEAK, OKAY?
I TOOK C++ IN GRAD SCHOOL.
NEARLY KILLED ME.
SO I HAVE ENORMOUS APPRECIATION FOR WHAT PROGRAMMERS DO.
MAYBE BECAUSE I'VE TRIED TO DO IT.
UM, SO--BUT IT'S CERTAINLY POSSIBLE IN PRINCIPLE
FOR A COCHLEAR IMPLANT USER
TO GET ACCESS TO THE HARDWARE,
GET INTO THE CURRENT,
AND START HACKING IT.
IT WOULD BE A VERY MARVELOUS THING IF THAT EVER HAPPENS.
OKAY. MORE QUESTIONS.
WE HAVE...
WE HAVE FOUR MINUTES.
YES?
(woman) HI, UM...
I'M WONDERING IF YOU HAVE ANY PHILOSOPHY
ON, LIKE, WHAT THE JUXTAPOSITION
BETWEEN DISABILITIES AND THE, UM...
THE...SORRY. [giggles]
THE, UH, DISABILITIES AND ENHANCEMENTS.
LIKE, CURRENTLY, LIKE WHAT WOULD HAPPEN--
LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAVE A--
A DISABLED RACER FOR THE OLYMPICS.
HE WANTS TO JOIN THE ACTUAL OLYMPICS
INSTEAD OF, LIKE, THE PARAPLEGIC OLYMPICS.
AND THERE'S A MAJOR CONTROVERSY OVER THAT
BECAUSE HE'S NOT QUITE NORMATIVE
IN TERMS OF THE BODY.
BUT HE HAS THESE, YOU KNOW, LIKE, ENHANCEMENTS FOR, LIKE,
HIS LIMBS TO BE ABLE TO RUN ON THE TRACK.
BUT THE OLYMPICS ARE NOT ALLOWING HIM TO COMPETE.
UM, BUT IT BRINGS BACK TO MIND, LIKE, ANOTHER COMPARISON.
NOT THE BEST COMPARISON,
BECAUSE IT HAS TO DO WITH THE VOICE.
(Michael) TALK INTO THE MIKE. YOU WILL MAKE IT CLEARER.
(woman) OH, SORRY, UM...
AND I'M THINKING ABOUT A DIFFERENT KIND OF COMPETITION
WITH SECRETARIAT, THE HORSE.
(Michael) WITH WHAT? WHAT WAS THAT?
(woman) SECRETARIAT, THE HORSE.
THE FASTEST HORSE.
(Michael) OKAY, YOU SOUND LIKE YOU'RE SAYING THE WORD
SECRETARIA.
(woman) SEC-RE-TAR-IAT.
SECRETARIAT.
(Michael) OKAY, HELP ME OUT.
A RACEHOR-- OH, SECRETARIAT.
(woman) YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.
YOU KNOW, HE'S LIKE THE BEST-- THE BIGGEST HORSE EVER.
BUT THEY FOUND OUT THAT HE ACTUALLY HAD A HEART ANOMALY,
LIKE HIS HEART IS TWO OR THREE TIMES BIGGER
THAN THE NORMAL HORSE,
WHICH MADE HIM NATURALLY ENHANCED.
BUT SHOULDN'T HE BE DISQUALIFIED BECAUSE HE'S NOT EXACTLY
A NORMAL HORSE, YOU KNOW?
LIKE THESE ARE SOME TENSIONS THAT
WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT WHAT MAKES FOR A FAIR COMPETITION
OR WHAT MAKES FOR A FAIR JUDGMENT
ON THE PHYSICALITY OF HOW WE'RE MADE UP.
SO I'M JUST WONDERING DO HAVE--
YOU KNOW, BECAUSE YOU'RE SO INTO, LIKE,
YOU KNOW, INTERESTED IN SEEING PROGRESSIONS MADE
BETWEEN DISABILITY TO ENHANCEMENT
OR LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE IN BETWEEN.
DO YOU HAVE ANY GUIDING PHILOSOPHIES
OR THOUGHTS ON HOW TO KEEP THINGS ETHICAL
OR INTERESTS WELL REPRESENTED?
OR PERHAPS, YOU KNOW, HAVING THE TABLE TURNED
WILL BLOW ALL OUR COMMONALITY
OUT THE WINDOW.
(Michael) INDEED I DO.
YEAH, YOU'RE ASKING A PROFOUND AND IMPORTANT QUESTION,
YOU KNOW, ABOUT WHAT THE WORD "DISABILITY" MEANS.
AND WHAT IT MEANS THAT WE ARE CREATING
A RANGE OF HUMAN BODIES.
NOW, FOR EXAMPLE, OSCAR PISTORIUS,
WHO I'M SURE YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH,
IS AN OLYMPIC SPRINTER WHO, UM,
WHO'S LOST BOTH LEGS BELOW THE KNEES.
AND WITH HIS PROSTHETIC LIMBS,
HE'S ABLE TO RUN FAST ENOUGH TO QUALIFY FOR THE OLYMPICS.
AND THE, YOU KNOW, THE ISSUE'S BEEN RAISED,
DOES HE HAVE AN UNFAIR ADVANTAGE?
BECAUSE HIS PROSTHETIC LIMB IS MORE SPRINGY,
DOES IT GIVE HIM MORE PUSH-OFF POWER
THAN A PERSON WITH NORMAL LEGS?
SO HE CAN, IN THEORY, OUTRUN A PERSON
WITH NORMAL LEGS.
SO THE QUESTION IS, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE TREAT THESE CASES?
SO I THINK THAT, FIRST OF ALL,
WE ARE ON THE BRINK-- WE'RE ALREADY SEEING
A BROADENING OF THE CONCEPT
OF WHAT IT MEANS TO HAVE A HUMAN BODY.
YOU KNOW, WE'VE GONE FROM HAVING THIS VERY NARROW CONCEPT
OF NORMAL HERE, ABNORMAL HERE, OKAY?
THAT'S AN OLD-FASHIONED CONCEPT THAT IS NOW STARTING TO GIVE WAY
TO THE IDEA THAT THERE IS A RANGE
OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF BODIES
WITH VARIOUS STRENGTHS AND VARIOUS WEAKNESSES.
UM, AND THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT I ADDRESS IN MY BOOK.
SO THIS IS SOMETHING
TO WHICH I'VE GIVEN A GOOD DEAL OF THOUGHT.
NOW, THE--THERE ARE-- THERE'S A WAY IN WHICH
I PUSH BACK AGAINST THAT ISSUE,
BECAUSE PEOPLE SOMETIMES JUMP TO THE ASSUMPTION
THAT A TECHNOLOGICAL ENHANCEMENT,
LIKE A COCHLEAR IMPLANT
OR LIKE OSCAR PISTORIUS'S LEGS,
ARE AUTOMATICALLY IMPROVEMENTS.
AND I HAVE TO SAY, IN MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE,
THAT'S NOT THE CASE.
MY HEARING IS ADEQUATE.
IT IS BY NO MEANS NORMAL.
IT IS FAR FROM BEING SUPER HUMAN.
YOU KNOW, AS MY FRIEND ANN WELL KNOWS,
I STRUGGLE TO HEAR THINGS.
PEOPLE CALL ME.
I MISS WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ON THE PHONE.
I HAD SOME DIFFICULTY HEARING WHAT YOU WERE SAYING.
SO, YOU KNOW, I'M WELL AWARE
THAT THE UNMODIFIED NORMATIVE HUMAN BODY--
AND I'M USING THAT WORD IN FULL AWARENESS OF THE--
OF HOW PROBLEMATIC IT IS--
IS AN EXTRAORDINARY PIECE OF ENGINEERING.
WHICH WE ARE SO FAR FROM BEING ABLE TO REPLICATE.
TO GIVE YOU ANOTHER EXAMPLE, WITH OSCAR PISTORIUS,
WITH HIS PROSTHETIC LIMBS
HE CAN RUN FASTER THAN A LOT OF OLYMPIC PEOPLE.
THERE'S A DRAWBACK.
HE CAN'T WALK WITH THOSE LIMBS.
BECAUSE THEY'RE SO SPRINGY
THAT HE CAN RUN FAST,
BUT WHEN HE GETS TO THE END OF THE COURSE,
PEOPLE HAVE TO CATCH HIM SO HE DOESN'T FALL DOWN.
AND THEN PUT BACK ON HIS WALKING LIMBS.
SO IN A SENSE, HE IS SUPERIOR.
HE IS.
BUT THE LIMBS HE HAS DON'T YET MATCH
THE FLEXIBILITY AND THE VERSATILITY
OF THE LEGS THAT MOST PEOPLE ARE BORN WITH.
SO I PUSH BACK A LITTLE BIT AGAINST THE QUESTION,
BECAUSE I THINK THAT WE'RE STILL A VERY LONG WAY
FROM BEING ABLE TO REPRODUCE THAT EXTRAORDINARY
QUALITIES OF THE HUMAN BODY.
NOW, THAT SAID, I THINK THAT WE'RE GETTING CLOSE
TO A TURNING POINT
WHERE WE ARE ABLE TO CREATE PEOPLE
OR REALLY HELP PEOPLE GAIN SUPER NORMATIVE POWERS
FOR THEMSELVES.
DARPA IS TRYING TO DO THAT.
AND I THINK THERE'S A GOOD CHANCE THAT,
SOONER OR LATER, THEY WILL SUCCEED.
AND THEN WE'LL REALLY HAVE TO BE COPING WITH THOSE ISSUES.
YOU KNOW, BUT YEAH.
BUT--BUT IN SUMMARY, WHAT I WOULD SAY IS
I WOULD LIKE TO SEE US GET THROUGH CONCEPTION
WHERE THERE IS A--
WHERE WE THINK OF THE HUMAN BODY
AS NOT, LIKE, DISABLED OR NORMAL,
TO BREAK OUT OF THOSE LIMITED CATEGORIES.
AND INSTEAD, LOOK FOR WHAT PEOPLE CAN DO WELL
AND HELP THEM TO DO IT TO THE BEST OF THEIR ABILITIES.
AND SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE, LIKE OSCAR PISTORIUS,
WILL DO EXTRAORDINARY THINGS.
SO THANK YOU.
OKAY, WE ARE OUT OF TIME.
IT'S 2:00 P.M.
YES, CLIFF?
(man) HI, UH... YES?
I HAD A QUESTION,
UH, WHETHER YOU'RE AWARE OF OTHER PEOPLE
WHO ARE, UH, WHO COULD NOT HEAR,
ARE COMPLETELY DEAF?
(Michael) COULD YOU SPEAK UP A LITTLE BIT?
I'M HAVING A LITTLE DIFFICULTY UNDERSTANDING YOU.
(man) UH, ARE YOU AWARE OF PEOPLE
WHO ARE COMPLETELY DEAF
AND THEN CHOSE TO GET A COCHLEAR IMPLANT,
AND HOW IS THEIR EXPERIENCE DIFFERENT THAN YOURS?
(Michael) OKAY, I GOT PART OF YOUR QUESTION.
SEE, ARE YOU ASKING ME--
ARE YOU ASKING ME ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE OF PEOPLE
WHO GET A COCHLEAR IMPLANT,
UM, WITHOUT EVER HAVING HAD NORMAL HEARING?
IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE ASKING? (man) YES, THAT'S IT.
(Michael) OKAY, ALL RIGHT.
SO LET ME--LET ME REPHRASE THE QUESTION
KIND OF FROM THE START.
SO IF I UNDERSTAND YOU RIGHT, WHAT YOU'RE ASKING ME IS THIS.
PEOPLE CAN GET COCHLEAR IMPLANTS AT ANY AGE.
PEOPLE WHO GET A COCHLEAR IMPLANT SHORTLY AFTER BIRTH
DO MUCH BETTER THAN PEOPLE WHO GET A COCHLEAR IMPLANT
LATE IN LIFE.
THE REASON FOR THAT IS
THAT IF THE BRAIN ISN'T EXPOSED TO SOUND
EARLY ON IN A CHILD'S LIFE,
THE AUDITORY CORTEX DOESN'T DEVELOP.
THAT AREA OF THE BRAIN GETS TAKEN OVER
BY THE VISUAL CORTEX.
SO THEY HAVE GREAT VISUAL ACUITY.
BUT THEY HAVE LITTLE AREA IN THE BRAIN LEFT OVER
TO DECODE AUDITORY DATA.
SO I'VE KNOWN PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN DEAF THEIR WHOLE LIVES
WHO HAVE NEVER HAD ANYTHING RESEMBLING NORMAL HEARING.
WHEN THEY GET A COCHLEAR IMPLANT,
THEY DON'T PERFORM AS WELL
AS PEOPLE WHO HAVE HAD CLOSE TO NORMAL HEARING
AT SOME POINT IN THEIR LIVES.
NOW, ME, I'M SORT OF IN BETWEEN.
I'VE NEVER HAD NORMAL HEARING,
BUT WITH HEARING AIDS I CAN DO WELL ENOUGH
TO BE ABLE TO GET BY MOST OF THE TIME.
THAT'S WHY I HEAR WELL ENOUGH WITH THE COCHLEAR IMPLANTS
TO USE THE PHONE ALL THE TIME.
I USE THE RADIO ALL THE TIME.
I LISTEN TO TV, I GO TO THE MOVIES AND SO FORTH.
IF I HAD NEVER HAD USABLE HEARING,
I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
SO, REALLY, THE IMPORTANT POINT
IS THAT IT'S THE BRAIN THAT HEARS.
IT'S NOT THE EAR THAT HEARS.
SO WITH IMPLANTS, THE SOONER YOU GET ONE,
THE BETTER THAT YOUR PERFORMANCE WILL BE.
NOW, HAVE I ANSWERED THE QUESTION THAT YOU ASKED?
(man) YES, YOU DID. OKAY. OKAY, GREAT.
(man) ALL RIGHT, WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MICHAEL.
IT'S BEEN A PLEASURE HAVING YOU HERE.
AND WE'LL ALSO HAVE SOME TIME AFTER THE SPEECH
IF PEOPLE WOULD LIKE TO GET THEIR BOOK SIGNED
OR HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS.
(Michael) YES, I'D LIKE TO HANG OUT AND TALK.
(man) ON BEHALF OF GOOGLE, THANK YOU AGAIN.
THANK YOU.
[applause]