Technology Could Enable Computers To "Read The Minds" Of Users

New techniques under development could allow computers to respond to users' thoughts of frustration or boredom (too much or too little work) by applying functional near-infrared spectroscopy technology, which uses light to monitor brain blood flow as a proxy for user workload stress. Applying this noninvasive, portable imaging technology in new ways, the researchers hope to gain real-time insight into the brain's emotional cues.

I for one...

[by Anonymous Coward]

Well, the computer already knows what I'm going to write, so why bother?

Re:I for one...

[WhyDoYouWantToKnow (1039964)]

I can see it now.

USER: You mean you can see into my mind.
COMPUTER: Yes
USER: And
COMPUTER: It amazes me how you manage to live in anything that small.

Quote shamelessly stolen from the Hitchhikers Guide.

The Whip Cracking Algorithm.

[Alien54 (180860)]

. . . uses light to monitor brain blood flow as a proxy for user workload stress.

They will use the stress level to monitor if you are providing enough output. Obviously, Maximum Stress(tm) = Maximum Output(tm).

This feeds directly into the whip cracking algorithm.

one step closer

[kevin.fowler (915964)]

No joke... if my computer scanned my brain and posted random LOLCats when I got sad or bored, my life would be legitimately better.

Re:

[PhxBlue (562201)]

I want something like that ... only when I'm about to throw the monitor out the window, the computer will play a .wav file that says, "Don't taze me, bro!"

Re:

[tonyreadsnews (1134939)]

Don't you mean "What are you doing... Dave? Stop...Dave."

Re:one step closer

[protolith (619345)]

I can just see it, I'm working on some document and the text "TPS Report" shows up. Then 2/3rds of the script for office space is suddenly cluttering the rest of the document.

I'm not sure I want all of my weird random thoughts actually materializing as I type. Oooo Shiney

It would get me fired. Especially if I'm working on something related to my degree (geology), Cleavage, Dike, fold and thrust, my pornographic memory does not always conjure up the safe and sane meaning first.

...

lets ride bikes...

Finally ...

[foobsr (693224)]

... the tinfoil hat will become useful.

CC.

Re:Finally ...

[wizardforce (1005805)]

except that MIT already showed that under certain conditions foil on the head actually focuses electromagnetic radiation, a very ineffective "brain wave shield" indeed. although this one in particular seems to require a measurement of blood flow, presumably anything that shields against electromagnetic radiation capable of measuring blood flow would be sufficient. :)

Re:

[ipooptoomuch (808091)]

OH LORD. I'm going to have to upgrade to a faraday cage now.

understand users

[by Anonymous Coward]

I am a developer and a user and I still can't understand what I want, much less what the average user is thinking... Good Luck!

Re:

[eln (21727)]

In my experience, the last thing any developer needs is to be able to see into the mind of the average user. It's dark and scary in there,

porn

[EmbeddedJanitor (597831)]

Duh!

Monitor blood flow?

[GuyMannDude (574364)]

I'm glad they are restricting the sensors to monitor brain blood flow while I'm at the computer. When my employeer starts automatically monitoring blood flow below my waist when I'm surfing online, that's when I'll start to get a bit worried. :)

GMD

Sounds good

[$RANDOMLUSER (804576)]

Let me know when you work out the image recognition problem, then we'll delve into what the image means...

Yeah, sure... but

[zappepcs (820751)]

will the computer send the appropriate message to software vendors? Would this technology have been able to cause clippy to die a horrible death? Would the detection of boredom and frustration and other mental states actually be translated to something useful? Will it help use make sense of the 'load letter' error? Will see see reports on CNN stating that 79.35% of Exchange users are confused, thus leading to the conclusion that the more intelligent you the more likely you use Thunderbird?

Re:

[cp.tar (871488)]

will the computer send the appropriate message to software vendors? Would this technology have been able to cause clippy to die a horrible death? Would the detection of boredom and frustration and other mental states actually be translated to something useful? Will it help use make sense of the 'load letter' error? Will see see reports on CNN stating that 79.35% of Exchange users are confused, thus leading to the conclusion that the more intelligent you the more likely you use Thunderbird?

I don't know.

I just hope no-one will think up a way to deliver commercials using this technology.

That would be a vicious cycle indeed: you're bored; let's get you some ads; you look even more bored; let's get you *more* ads...

:shudder:

old news

[rucs_hack (784150)]

My windows machine computer already does this. It uses an incredibly precise mind reading method to determine the absolute worst moment to shut down/blue up, or provide me with a handy dialog box explaining that the current app doesn't want to play any more and has taken my data home with it.

Clippy?

[clarkkent09 (1104833)]

Using my mind reading technology I can tell that you are under extremely high level of stress. Would you like to:

a) Take a nap
b) Have a healthy snack
c) Continue working

AAAAARGH *fist crashes through the monitor*

1st Practical appl. of DXdiag 3D cube found!

[Zymergy (803632)]

"While wearing the fNIRS device, test subjects viewed a multicolored cube consisting of eight smaller cubes with two, three or four different colors. As the cube rotated onscreen, subjects counted the number of colored squares in a series of 30 tasks."

Patch it into clippy.

[by Anonymous Coward]

It seems you want to strangle me. Would you like some assistance?

I can't be the only one

[techpawn (969834)]

who thought it was an oxymoron to see "non-invasive" and "computer brain scan"?

Re:

[ookabooka (731013)]

The "non-invasive" bit is probably the medical "non-invasive" in that nothing pierces the skin and nothing goes into any orifices.

Re:

[techpawn (969834)]

I understand, it's still the thought of tech that can read my mind seems rather more invasive than I'd like.

Re:

[UncleTogie (1004853)]

While medically non-invasive, I'd quit ANY firm that tried to get me to wear one.

As stated in the article, this is to boost "efficiency". Can I get bored doing many repetitive tasks that IT entails? Sure. Do those "boring tasks" pay the bills at the shop? You betcha. Nothing wrong there other than business as usual.

What if your boss, at your entry interview, stated that they reserved the right to search your house at any time... would you be as eager about the job? I'm firmly convinced that my body conten

Re:

[UncleTogie (1004853)]

Your headband wearing overlords will praise you for all your efficiency while you unnoticeably read away on /.

What worries me more is their asking why my brain's only active at work while reading Slashdot...

Clippy 2050

[inKubus (199753)]

It appears you are about to throw me out of the Window! Perhaps some mood-enhancing serotonin reuptake inhibitors will help?

How can it tell the different stressors?

[StringBlade (557322)]

How can this thing tell the difference of me being stressed out because of my home life versus me being stressed out due to my work life?

Until it can distinguish between at least those two types of stress, then it's probably only useful for the HR dept. to help you in their "life programs" if your employer offers them.

Scenario

[TheRealMindChild (743925)]

Boss: Look, we got a report from our monitors that you were... um... sexually excited, two days ago around 3pm. Just about the time we heard reports of grunting sounds from your cube.
Employee: uhhhhhhhhhh
Boss: This prompted us to install a logger on your machine. We were able to get your VPN password you were using to connect to your home, and noticed you have a thing for zombie midget porn.
Employee: errr
Boss: We were also able to detect that your... libido... rise when the one-legged secretary delivers your mail to your cube. Employee: ...

Boss: Wait till you see my wife's mother. She is coming in here with my wife in about fifteen minutes. You'll like her. She was in a car wreck a year or so ago and had a skin graft on 80% of her body!

biological subsystem for 'reading minds'

[nido (102070)]

When I read the title, I immediately thought of Mirror Neurons [wikipedia.org], which enable primates to imitate and empathize with other members of their species. It'd be cool if the researchers were building a silicon mirror-neuron system, but alas, such is not the case.

Bad idea.

[Trillan (597339)]

Text-based interfaces prove that most users couldn't read.

Graphic interfaces prove that most users can't understand abstractions.

Mind reading interfaces will only prove that most users can't think.

Re:

[einer (459199)]

Yeah. Once the computers know how stupid and lazy we are, they'll be compelled to take control for fear of annihilation by epic dumbassery.

Re:

[Trillan (597339)]

Heh. I might as well quit reading slashdot now. I'll never have a comment that brilliant again...

Re:

[Captain Splendid (673276)]

It's always a sad moment when you peak. Just savour it for a while, then realize the next one's a looong way off (but it will be there.)

What Question Mark

[avirrey (972127)]

Personally comma I don't trust this thing period I mean really comma if the voice-recognition program can get it straight comma what makes me thing this thingamadongle on top of my head is going to get my thought pattern down correctly question mark question mark question mark It's just silly period

Yes comma I did train the word thingamadongle period

--
X's and O's for all my foes.

Useless without context

[zeoslap (190553)]

What is the device supposed to do with the information without knowing the context? Am I stressed because of the call I've just taken, the news story I've just read or my inability to use a specific app. Neat tech but good luck trying to use it to do anything useful.

In other news....

[nobodyman (90587)]

Sony and Microsoft are developing competing formats for reading your mind.

Re:

[MiniMike (234881)]

Will Mac users minds stop working at the next update if they've had any unauthorized thoughts?

Make your own 'when did they start' jokes below...

Sure your PC wants to know what you think?

[Hoi Polloi (522990)]

PC: "You want me to stick the mouse where? Now, now, there is no need to think like that. Here, play some minesweeper..."

1984

[packetmon (977047)]

Neat... Cameras, wiretapping... Thoughtcrime

I don't want to read the minds of my users

[rantingkitten (938138)]

Especially when this is typical of the email they send:

Subject: Phones not working
Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2007 8:40:42 -0700 (11:40 EDT)

HELP!!!! PLEASE!!!!

That's it. That was the whole thing, minus the guy's name. Or how about

Subject: directory
Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2007 09:46:50 -0500 (10:46 EDT)

I am pushing the 'dir' button. WHY???

I don't know why, ma'am.

Seriously. I think if could peer into the "mind" of my users, I'd just see a saw going back and forth through a log, or one of those cymbal-clapping wind-up monkey toys. I can't imagine there's much else going on up there.

Hype

[PingXao (153057)]

Getting a computer to read and understand text or understand speech is still aways off, never mind mind reading. I have no doubt it will happen some day, but things on the interpretation and understanding front have a long, long way to go. Speech recognition has been stagnant for 10 years. OCR still requires many hours of human cleanup and tweaking. Natural language translation is a field that seems to be advancing faster than the others, but it, too, has a long way to go.

The inputs to all of the above are well known. Reading signals from implanted sensors, and interpreting their meaning is above and beyond the call of hype.

we already have social engineering hacks

[circletimessquare (444983)]

now hackers can have help breaking into your pc by putting the computer in a new context, by putting you in a bad mood, for example

enter the "mood altered state hack" .. which, btw, is actually the basis for most all interaction between husbands, wives, children, and boyfriends and girlfriends

so this development is either a great step forward for cognitive science, or a great step backwards for the professional computer-based work environment, depending on your point of view

personally, i interact with the c

But..

[Ilex (261136)]

Remember you must think in Russian!

Automated interrogation

[dpbsmith (263124)]

Grand... combine this with the pain ray gun [slashdot.org] and you have the makings of a fully-automated interrogation device.

Limited Use At Best

[moore.dustin (942289)]

Everyone is quick to dream up what technology like this could yield, but we are far from being able to apply this technology into anything truly useful.

We have an unimaginable amount of information on the brain anatomy and biology, but no real idea on how the brain works at a fundamental level. That information is vital to being able to make intelligent technology that can actually make use of stuff like is discussed in TFA. I am sure many have already read it, but there is a great book on the subject called On Intelligence [amazon.com] by Jeff Hawkins. It talks about the study of the brain and why current attempts to create AI are doomed to failure.

Anyways, I thought I should mention the book as it opened my eyes and gave me great insight into the industry and our very remarkable brains. :)

They can't patent this

[SL Baur (19540)]

They can't patent this. I claim prior art.

http://packetstormsecurity.org/unix-humor/awesome.unix.chdir.program.html [packetstormsecurity.org]

First applications would be in security...

[mi (197448)]

A lot of people are stressed out in the airport, so it would not be that useful there. But entrances to government buildings at home or abroad (such as embassies) could benefit...

"That guy is awfully nervous. Let's take another look at his backpack..."

Still a long way to go

[ardor (673957)]

The problem is, while the computer can read the mind, it cannot read anything useful. Its like trying to read DCT blocks in JPEG files directly - you cannot do anything useful with it until you know you need to IDCT it. Its even more relevant with entropy coding; without the proper model you cannot do _anything_ at all with the bitstream.

Thus, reading the mind is actually the easy part. Making sense out of the information is the real deal. It is even harder because brain "data" doesn't seem to be binary, or

Are you there God? It's me.

[einer (459199)]

God please just let me die before my boss gets ahold of this technology.