The Past, Present, & Future of Brain-Computer Interfaces

In brief: A historical look into how brain computer interfaces have transformed over the past few decades: the landmark research of the past, the landmark research of today, and how it’s going to transform the future of XR. As a neuroscientist for about a decade, my work has focused on how people represent spatial contexts, concepts, and events. I have been able to place people in VR experiences and then through the use of neuroimaging and AI methods untangle their thoughts and how those thoughts influenced what they remember. As this neuroimaging technology reduces in form-factor and increases in accessibility, we can no longer turn a blind-eye to how it may be used nefariously in consumer products. In this talk, I will describe how Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) have been defined over the years, how research in this field has catapulted, an overview of the neuroscience behind the technology, the landmark studies of the past and present, use-cases in which XR, robotics, prosthetics and BCI have intertwined, and how new AI models are being used to perform mind-reading of both language and mental images. “With great power comes great responsibility” – I will end the talk by describing how and what it means for the future of XR and why it’s important to be careful with this technology, but also how incredibly empowering it can be for the future of XR.