Ethics

Neurotechnology's Killer App

By Adam Kolber

According to the Associated Press, later this year, a company will sell a "neuroheadset" designed for use in video games for $299:

The headset's sensors are designed to detect conscious thoughts and expressions as well as "non-conscious emotions" by reading electrical signals around the brain, says the company, which demonstrated the wireless gadget at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.

The company, which unveiled a prototype last year, says the headset can detect emotions such as anger, excitement and tension, as well as facial expressions and cognitive actions like pushing and pulling objects.

The headset will be sold with a game developed by Emotiv, but it can also be made to work with existing PC games, the company said. Users will also be able to access an online portal to play more games, chat or upload their own content such as music or photos.

It has sometimes been said that the VHS market grew so quickly because it made pornography easily available.  In the Internet age, pornography was again credited with spurring technology for online financial technologies and streaming video.  Who knows whether these "neuroheadsets" can do a good job at what they are purported to do?  BUT, if they become popular in videogames, you can bet that there will be a lot of innovation and cost reduction in technologies like this, along with applications in many different areas.

Full post as published by Neuroethics and Law on February 27, 2008 (boomark / email).