Annex B – Technology reviewnerve cells and technological components or devices.^82 Examples of one-way interfaces
are the cochlea implant (hearing aid) or neurofeedback training to enhance visual
attention.^83 Implants produced specifically for augmentation are relatively underdeveloped,
although there are examples: vagus nerve stimulation has shown itself to act as a memory
stimulator.^84 Stimulating the brain by using implanted electrodes during learning has been
shown to improve memory capacity by up to 30%.^85
Rapid advances are being made in the ability to decode brain signals, examples
include the recognition of words, correcting robot mistakes and recognising music
from electroencephalography.^86 Non-invasive interfaces have also been shown to allow
human brain-to-brain communication and problem solving.^87 Experiments using invasive
interfaces have demonstrated information transfer and teamwork in connected laboratory
animals, as well as limited thought-speech translation.^88
Potential and issues. Future improvements of brain stimulation may include better
ways of targeting brain areas and improved understanding of how it works.^89 Using
a combination of stimulations for more complex functions, deeper stimulation and
interactive systems that tune themselves to brain activity are also likely to deliver further
enhancements.
The direct link between brain and action is an effective alternative to traditional interfaces,
especially in a military environment where there is a risk of overloading cognitive and
sensory functions. The brain-computer interface detects when certain areas of the
brain are cognitively activated (for example, certain thoughts) and transmits this, thus
enabling brain-controlled action or communication. Brain-computer interfaces have
the potential to enhance human-machine teaming whereas brain-brain interfaces
would enhance human to human teaming on the battlefield. With the ascent of artificial
intelligence, brain-computer interfaces can also provide new ways of accessing vast
amounts of information, and ways of communication. Two-way brain-computer interfaces
may enable an even wider set of cognitive augmentation than the purely biological.
However, this technology is not expected to be realised within the 2050 time frame.
82 Forbes,(2019), ‘Brain-Computer Interfaces And Mind Control Move One Step Closer To Becoming
Reality’.
83 Ordikhani-Seyedlar, M., et al., (2016), Frontiers in Neuroscience, ’Neurofeedback therapy for enhancing
visual attention: state-of-the-art and challenges’.
84 Clark, K.B., et al., (1999), Nature Neuroscience, ‘Enhanced recognition memory following vagus nerve
stimulation in human subjects’.
85 New Scientist, (2017), ‘Brain implant boosts memory’.
86 Kang, T., et al., (2017), International Workshop on Symbiotic Interaction, ‘Predicting What You
Remember from Brain Activity: EEG-Based Decoding of Long-Term Memory Formation’; Salazar-Gomez,
A.F., et al., (2017), 2017 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), ‘Correcting robot
mistakes in real time using eeg signals’; and Schaefer, R. S., et al., (2011), NeuroImage, ’Name that tune:
decoding music from the listening brain’.
87 Jiang, L., et al., (2019), Scientific Reports, ‘BrainNet: a multi-person brain-to-brain interface for direct
collaboration between brains’.
88 Pais-Vieira, M., et al., (2013), Scientific Reports, ‘A brain-to-brain interface for real-time sharing of
sensorimotor information’.; and Anumanchipalli, G. K., et al., (2019), Nature, ‘Speech synthesis from neural
decoding of spoken sentences’.
89 Fertonani, A. and Miniussi, C., (2017), The Neuroscientist, ‘Transcranial electrical stimulation: what we
know and do not know about mechanisms’.