Have you ever wondered what life would be like if you could install an “Internet cable” in your brain, access information anytime, anywhere, and search and control everything as quickly as you do with your smartphone? You don't need to open a book, search your cell phone, or even type; information will pop up as soon as you move your head. “Brain-computer interface technology has finally come to a working version. Simply put, it's the technology that “puts the brain online”! It allows us to communicate directly with computers, cell phones, and even other devices without moving our hands or eyes. Have you ever thought that your brain could secretly do this for you while you're busy typing? Now, this kind of thing might be possible!

Brain-computer interface (BCI) is like a highway between your brain and external devices; you do not need to point with your fingers and mouth to say, but through the brain's neural signals, direct realisation of the brain and computers, machinery and equipment to interact with each other. You can understand this as a kind of “superpower”, but this does not require superhuman blood, as long as there is a “head” and a “connection line” on the line.

Over the past few years, this technology has remained in the lab, and while there have been some cool demos, such as the ability to manipulate a robotic arm with brainwaves or to control a computer cursor with your mind, these technologies are often not stable enough to be used in real life. In other words, you can control a toy car with your head, but it may be a while before you can control your life with it.

However, Musk's brain-computer interface company Neuralink recently announced that they have broken through the technological bottleneck and successfully realised a practical operation of the brain-computer interface system, from the “head plugged into the network cable” dream is one step closer. What does “operational” mean? It's like a black technology that only scientists can play with has suddenly become like an iPhone, which can be used by ordinary people. Only our “brain operating system” is not Android or iOS, but your mind! Neuralink's core technology is a kind of extremely tiny “brain electrodes”, which are precisely implanted into the brain by a super tiny robotic surgical system. The robot is like a “small internal surgeon”, specialising in drilling a few tiny “nails” into your brain, which receive electrical signals from the brain and then transmit these signals to an external device via wireless signals.

The process doesn't require an incision; it's a precise manoeuvre through a micro-robot, as simple as changing a battery, and the wound is small. The whole process is as simple as changing a memory card in a cell phone. Instead, these electrodes accurately capture the neural activity in your brain and convert it into understandable digital signals. Once these electrodes are successfully implanted, your brain establishes a direct connection with the outside world. You can use your brainwaves to operate a computer cell phone or even control the movements of a robot. It's like you can sit at home and turn on the lights, play music, or even adjust the temperature with your mind without using your hands or your mouth. It's almost as if you've put a “plug-in” on your brain, upgrading your brain's “operating system”. This technology is not limited to medical applications; it may change every aspect of our daily lives in the future. For example, when you are driving, you can use your mind to control the in-car system - you don't need to touch the screen with your fingers or be distracted, you can play music, adjust the navigation, or even switch driving modes just by thinking about it.

Or you can use your mind to “easily learn a new language”. You want to learn French, the brain-computer interface to help you “directly download” vocabulary and grammar, instead of spending years memorising the words and practising the accent - well, does not it sound like a science fiction movie plot? 

In the future, you will be able to move your head, and the whole world will work according to your instructions. Not only can you easily “control” the technology around you, but you may even be able to start a mental dialogue with extraterrestrial beings. Who knows, today is the starting point of brain upgrading; tomorrow may be the new era of human “brain interconnection”. In the future, who will need to push buttons?

（Writer：Seli）