MRI and AI to process your thoughts
Scientists have combined the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with artificial intelligence (AI) language models to translate internal experiences into words. The hybrid technology has resulted in a decoder that can reproduce, with a high level of accuracy, the stories that a person listened to or imagined telling in the scanner. The decoder technology is still in its infancy and needs to be trained extensively for each person who uses it. Researchers say that the AI language system can make informed guesses about the words that evoked brain activity just by looking at fMRI brain scans. The technology could help people who can’t speak or otherwise outwardly communicate such as those who have suffered strokes or are living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The current brain-computer interfaces require the implantation of devices in the brain, but neuroscientists hope to use non-invasive techniques such as fMRI to decipher internal speech without the need for surgery. ...