A Powerful New Neurotech Tool for Augmenting Your Mind | Conor Russomanno | TED

譯者: 麗玲 辛 審譯者: Helen Chang

I became obsessed with the relationship between the brain and the mind

我在大學踢足球和橄欖球時 有好幾次腦震盪的經驗，

after suffering a series of concussions

於是開始對大腦和心智 之間的關係十分著迷。

playing football and rugby in college.

I felt my mind change for years after.

這些年來，我一直覺得 我的心智發生了變化。

I was studying computers at the time,

當時我正在研究電腦，

and it felt as though I had damaged my hardware

覺得好像我弄壞了我的硬體，

and that my software was running differently.

因而我的軟體運行方式也有所不同。

Over the following years,

在接下來的幾年裡，

a close friend suffered a serious neck injury

一位好友經歷嚴重的頸部傷害，

and multiple friends and family members were struggling

還有多位親友罹患嚴重的心理疾病。

with crippling mental health issues.

All around me, people that I loved dearly were being afflicted by ailments

在我周遭，深愛的人受到 神經系統或精神疾病的折磨。

of the nervous system or the mind.

I was grappling with all of this

當我正在努力面對這些問題，

while pursuing an MFA in Design and Technology at Parsons

同時也在帕森斯學院 攻讀設計與科技碩士學位，

when a friend and fellow student showed me an open-source tutorial

一位朋友兼同學告訴我一個開源課程，

on how to build a low-cost single-channel EEG system

介紹如何建構低成本的 單通道腦電圖（EEG）系統

to detect brain activity.

來檢測大腦活動。

After a couple long nights of hacking and tinkering,

在連續幾個晚上的研究和修改後，

I saw my brainwaves dancing across the screen for the very first time.

我第一次看到我的腦波在螢幕上跳動。

And that moment changed my life.

那一刻改變了我的生命。

In that moment,

那一刻，

I felt as though I had the possibility to help myself and the people I loved.

我覺得我有機會 幫助自己和我所愛的人。

And I also realized that I couldn't do it alone.

同時我也意識到， 我無法獨自實現這一切，

I needed help.

我需要幫助。

So in 2013, in Brooklyn, with some like-minded friends,

因此，2013 年，我和一些 志同道合的朋友在布魯克林

I started OpenBCI, an open-source neurotechnology company.

共同創辦了OpenBCI， 一家開源神經科技公司。

In the beginning,

一開始，

our goal was to build an inward-pointing telescope

我們的目標是建造 一個向內看的望遠鏡，

and to share the blueprints with the world

並把這藍圖分享給世人，

so that anybody with a computer could begin peering into their own brain.

讓每個擁有電腦的人 都可以開始窺探自己的大腦。

At first, we were an EEG-only company.

起初，我們只是 一家腦電圖（EEG）公司，

We sold brain sensors to measure brain activity.

出售腦部感測器來測量腦部活動。

I thought that's what people wanted.

我以為這是人們想要的。

But over time, we discovered people doing very strange things with our technology.

然而隨著時間推移，我們發現人們 用我們的技術做了一些非常奇特的事。

Some people were connecting the equipment to the stomach

有些人將設備連接到胃部，

to measure the neurons in the gut

測量腸道中的神經元，

and study gut-brain connection and the microbiome.

研究腸腦連接和微生物基因組群。

Others were using the tools to build new muscle sensors and controllers

還有人使用這些工具 來建立新型肌肉感測器

和假肢、機器人的控制器。

for prosthetics and robotics.

And some were designing new devices

有人則設計新的設備和外掛程式，

and peripheral add-ons that could be connected to the platform

可以連接到平台，

測量我從未聽說過的新型數據。

to measure new types of data that I had never heard of before.

What we learned from all of this

從這一切，我們學到

is that the brain by itself is actually quite boring.

大腦本身其實相當無趣。

Turns out brain data alone lacks context.

事實證明，大腦數據 本身缺乏情境訊息。

And what we ultimately care about is not the brain,

我們真正關心的不是大腦，

but the mind, consciousness, human cognition.

而是心智、意識和人類認知。

When we have things like EMG sensors to measure muscle activity

當我們擁有肌電圖感測器 來測量肌肉活動

or ECG sensors to measure heart activity,

或心電圖感測器來測量心臟活動、

eye trackers

眼動儀、甚至環境感測器 來測量我們周圍的世界時，

and even environmental sensors to measure the world around us,

all of this makes the brain data much more useful.

這些都使得大腦數據更有用。

But the organs around our body, our sensory receptors,

然而，我們全身的器官、感覺接受器，

are actually much easier to collect data from than the brain,

實際上比大腦更容易收集數據，

and also arguably much more important for determining the things

而且對於影響我們真正關心的面向：

that we actually care about: emotions, intentions and the mind overall.

情緒、動機和整體心智來說， 可能更加重要。

Additionally,

此外，

we realized that people weren't just interested

我們意識到人們不僅僅

想要多了解大腦和身體，

in reading from the brain and the body.

They were also interested in modulating the mind

人們也想知道如何通過 各類感官刺激來調節心智。

through various types of sensory stimulation.

Things like light, sound,

例如光線、聲音、

haptics and electricity.

觸覺和電流。

It's one thing to record the mind,

記錄心智是一回事，

it's another to modulate it.

調節心智是另一回事。

The idea of a combined system

能夠同時讀取和寫入 大腦或身體的結合系統

that can both read from and write to the brain or body

is referred to as a closed-loop system or bidirectional human interface.

被稱為閉環系統或雙向人機介面。

This concept is truly profound,

這個概念確實意義深遠，

and it will define the next major revolution in computing technology.

它將定義運算科技的下一個重大變革。

When you have products that not just are designed for the average user

當產品不僅是為普遍用戶設計，

but are designed to actually adapt to their user,

而是設計來適應個別用戶，

that's something truly special.

那才是真正特別的東西。

When we know what the data of an emotion or a feeling looks like

當我們知道情緒 或感覺的數據是什麼樣子，

and we know how to make that data go up or down,

也知道怎麼讓這些數據上升或下降時，

then using AI,

我們就可以使用 AI 來建立 正向或負向的干預模式，

we can build constructive or destructive interference patterns

to either amplify or suppress those emotions or feelings.

以增強或抑制這些情緒或感受。

In the very near future,

在不久的將來，

we will have computers that we are resonantly

我們將擁有與之共振 並在潛意識中相連接的電腦，

and subconsciously connected to,

enabling empathetic computing for the very first time.

從而首次實現共感運算。

In 2018,

在 2018 年，

we put these learnings to work

我們將這些知識付諸實踐，

and began development of a new tool for cognitive exploration.

開始研發用於認知探索的新工具。

Named after my friend Gael, who passed from ALS in 2016,

以我的朋友 Gael 的名字命名，

他於 2016 年因 ALS （肌萎縮性側索硬化症）去世，

we call it Galea.

我們稱之為 Galea。

It’s a multimodal bio-sensing headset,

這是一款多模態生物感測頭盔，

and it is absolutely packed with sensors.

內建大量感測器。

It can measure the user’s heart, skin, muscles, eyes and brain,

它可以測量用戶的心臟、 皮膚、肌肉、眼睛和大腦，

and it combines that capability with head-mounted displays

同時把頭戴式顯示器、擴增現實 和虛擬現實頭盔相結合。

or augmented and virtual reality headsets.

Additionally, we're exploring the integration

此外，我們正在研究

將非侵入性電神經刺激整合， 使之成為一項功能。

of non-invasive electrical neural stimulation as a feature.

The Galea software suite

Galea 套裝軟體

can turn the raw sensor data into meaningful metrics.

可以將感測器的原始數據 轉化為有意義的指標。

With some of the sensors,

通過某些感測器，

we're able to provide new forms of real-time interactivity and control.

我們能夠提供新形式的 即時互動和控制。

And with all of the sensors,

因為有這些感測器，

we're able to make quantifiable inferences about high-level states of mind,

我們能夠對心智的高階狀態 進行可量化的推斷，

things like stress, fatigue, cognitive workload and focus.

例如壓力、疲勞、認知負載和專注等。

In 2019,

在 2019 年，

a legendary neurohacker by the name of Christian Bayerlein

一位傳奇的神經駭客名叫 克里斯蒂安·巴耶爾萊因

reached out to me.

與我聯繫。

He was actually one of our very first Kickstarter backers

事實上，當我們剛開始時， 他就是我們募資平台最早支持者之一。

when we got started, early on.

Christian was a very smart, intelligent, happy-go-lucky

克里斯蒂安是一個非常聰明、 機智、無憂無慮、隨和的傢伙。

and easygoing guy.

And so I worked up the courage to ask him, "Hey, Christian,

所以我鼓起勇氣問他：

「克里斯蒂安，我們可以 將你連接到我們的感測器嗎？」

can we connect you to our sensors?"

At which point he said,

他當時回答說：

"I thought you would never ask."

「我還以為你永遠不會問呢！」

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So after 20 minutes,

20 分鐘後，

we had him rigged up to a bunch of electrodes,

我們幫他接上好幾個電極，

and we provided him with four new inputs to a computer.

並給他四個新的電腦輸入源，

Little digital buttons, that he could control voluntarily.

他可以自主控制的一些數字小按鈕。

This essentially doubled his number of inputs to a computer.

基本上，他輸入電腦的 數據就多了一倍。

Years later, after many setbacks due to COVID,

幾年後，經歷了新冠疫情 帶來的諸多挫折，

we flew to Germany to work with Christian in person

我們飛往德國與克里斯蒂安實體合作，

to implement the first prototype

打造我們今天將在這裡 展示的首個原型。

of what we're going to be demoing here today.

Christian then spent months training with that prototype

克里斯蒂安隨後花了數個月的時間 與該原型機進行訓練，

and sending his data across the Atlantic to us in Brooklyn from Germany

將他的數據從德國 跨越大西洋，傳送到布魯克林，

and flying a virtual drone in our offices.

在我們的辦公室中操作虛擬無人機。

The first thing that we did was scour Christian's body

我們做的第一件事就是 檢查克里斯蒂安的身體

for residual motor function.

是否殘留運動功能。

We then connected electrodes to the four muscles

然後，我們將電極連接到 他最能自主控制的四組肌肉上，

that he had the most voluntary control over,

and then we turned those muscles into digital buttons.

將這些肌肉轉化為數字按鈕。

We then applied some smart filtering and signal processing

接著，我們進行了 一些智能過濾和信號處理，

to adapt those buttons into something more like a slider

將這些按鈕轉換為更像是滑塊

or a digital potentiometer.

或數位電位器的形式。

After that,

之後，

we turned those four sliders

我們將這四個滑塊

and mapped them to a new virtual joystick.

映射到一個新型虛擬搖桿上。

Christian then combined that new joystick

然後克里斯蒂安將這個新搖桿

with the joystick that he uses with his lip to control his wheelchair,

結合他原本用嘴唇控制輪椅的搖桿，

and with the two joysticks combined,

透過兩個搖桿的結合，

Christian finally had control over all the manual controls of a drone.

克里斯蒂安最終掌握了 無人機的所有手動控制。

I’m going to stop talking about it, and we’re going to show you.

我現在不再多說了，我們將為你展示。

Christian,

克里斯蒂安，歡迎。

welcome.

(Applause)

（掌聲）

At this point,

此時，

I'm going to ask everybody to turn off your Bluetooth

請大家關閉藍牙，

and put your phones in airplane mode

並將手機調至飛航模式，

so that you don't get hit in the face with a drone.

以免被無人機擊中臉部。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

How are you feeling, Christian?

克里斯蒂安，你感覺怎麼樣？

Christian Bayerlein: Yeah, let's do it.

克里斯蒂安：好的，我們開始吧。

Conor Russomanno: Awesome.

康納·魯索曼諾：太棒了。

This is a heads-up display that's showing all of Christian's biometric data,

這是一個平視顯示器， 顯示克里斯蒂安所有的生物識別數據，

as well as some information about the drone.

以及有關無人機的一些資訊。

On the left here, we can see Christian's muscle data.

在左側，我們可以看到 克里斯蒂安的肌肉數據。

Christian is now going to attempt to fly the drone.

克里斯蒂安現在要嘗試駕駛無人機。

How are you feeling, Christian, feeling good?

克里斯蒂安，你覺得如何， 感覺不錯嗎？

CB: Yes.

克里斯蒂安：是的。

康納·魯索曼諾：好的。 搖滾吧。出發兜風了。

CR: All right. Rock and roll.

Let's take this up for a joyride.

你準備好，就開始。

Whenever you're ready.

克里斯蒂安：我準備好了。

CB: I'm ready.

(Applause and cheers)

（掌聲和歡呼聲）

CR: All right, take her up.

康納·魯索曼諾：好，飛上去吧。

And now let's do something we probably shouldn't do

現在，來做點也許不該做的事，

and fly it over the audience.

讓它飛過觀眾上方。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

(Cheers and applause)

（歡呼聲和掌聲）

Alright, actually, let’s do this.

好，讓我們這樣做吧。

I'm going to ask for people to call out some commands in the audience.

現在，請觀眾呼喊一些指令。

你來好嗎？

So how about you?

Straight forward.

前進。

Straight forward.

前進。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Alright. How about you?

好，你呢？

Man: Up!

男子：上升！

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

CR: Not down.

康納·魯索曼諾：不要下降。

Oh, he's doing what he wants right now.

哦，他現在在做他想做的事情。

Amazing.

太神奇了。

(Cheers and applause)

（歡呼聲和掌聲）

Alright, let’s bring it back.

好，讓它回來。

現在，我要接管控制器，

And what I'm going to do right now is take control of the controller

so that you guys know

這樣你們就確知

that there isn't someone backstage flying this drone.

後台沒有人在操縱這架無人機。

All right, Christian, you're alright with that?

好，克里斯蒂安，你同意嗎？

克里斯蒂安：是的。

CB: Yeah.

CR: Unplug.

康納·魯索曼諾：拔掉插頭。

Forward.

前進。

And we're going to land this guy now.

現在我們來讓這架飛機降落。

CB: I think I was better than you.

克里斯蒂安：我覺得我做得比你好。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

(Applause)

（掌聲）

CR: Amazing.

康納·魯索曼諾：太棒了。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Now I'm going to unplug it so it doesn't turn on on its own.

現在我要拔掉插頭， 這樣它就不會自己啟動。

Perfect.

完美。

Christian has repurposed dormant muscles from around his body

克里斯蒂安重新運用了 他身體周圍的休眠肌肉，

for extended and augmented interactivity.

以延伸和增強互動性。

We have turned those muscles into a generic controller

我們將這些肌肉變成了通用控制器，

that in this case we've mapped into a drone,

在本例中，我們將其映射到無人機，

but what's really cool is that joystick can be applied to anything.

但很酷的是搖桿可以應用在任何物件。

Another thing that's really cool

另一件非常酷的事情是，

is that even in individuals who are not living with motor disabilities,

即使對於沒有運動障礙的人來說，

there exist dozens of dormant muscles around the body

身體周圍也存在數十塊休眠肌肉，

that we can tap into for augmented and expanded control interactivity.

我們可以利用它們 來增強和擴展交互控制。

And lastly,

最後一點，

all the code related to that virtual joystick,

所有與虛擬搖桿相關的原始碼， 我們將開放其資源，

we're going to open source

so that you can implement it and improve upon it.

這樣，大家可以使用並改進它。

There's three things that have stood out to me

多年來，在進行這個專案 以及其他許多專案時，

from working on this project and many others over the years.

有三件事引起了我的注意。

One,

首先，

we cannot conflate the brain with the mind.

我們不能將大腦與心智混為一談。

In order to understand emotions

要了解情緒、

and tensions and the mind overall,

緊張以及整體心智，

we have to measure data from all over the body,

我們必須測量整個身體的數據，

not just the brain.

不僅僅是大腦。

Two,

第二，

open-source technology access and literacy

開源科技的開放使用及素養

is one way that we can combat the potential ethical challenges we face

是我們引進神經科技時， 應對潛在道德挑戰的一種方式。

in introducing neural technology to society.

But that's not enough.

但這還不夠。

We have to do much, much more than that.

我們要做的事情遠不止這些。

It's very important, imperative, that we set up guardrails

設立防護措施，並設計 我們想要的未來生活，

and design the future that we want to live in.

這一點非常重要、勢在必行。

Three.

第三，

It's the courage and resilience of trailblazers like Christian

正是像克里斯蒂安這樣的 先驅者的勇氣和韌性，

who don't get bogged down by what they can't do,

不會因自己的限制而陷入困境，

but instead strive to prove that the impossible is in fact possible.

而是努力證明 不可能其實是可能的。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

And since none of this would have been possible without you, Christian,

如果沒有你，克里斯蒂安， 這一切都是不可能的，

the stage is yours.

現在舞台交給你了。

CB: Yeah, hi, everybody.

克里斯蒂安：是的，大家好。

Audience: Hi.

觀眾：你好。

CB: I'm excited to be here today.

克里斯蒂安：我很高興今天來到這裡。

I was born with a genetic condition that affects my mobility

我天生患有影響行動能力的遺傳疾病，

and requires me to have assistance.

需要他人的幫助。

Despite my disability,

儘管有障礙，

I'm a very happy and fulfilled person.

我是一個非常快樂和滿足的人。

What truly holds me back are not my physical limitations.

真正束縛我的不是身體上的限制，

It's rather the barriers in the environment.

而是環境中的障礙。

I'm a tech nerd and political activist.

我是一個科技愛好者和政治活動家。

I believe that technology can empower disabled people.

我相信科技可以賦予障礙人士力量，

It can help create a better,

它可以幫助每個人創建一個更美好、

more inclusive and accessible world

更包容和更無障礙的世界。

for everyone.

This demonstration is a perfect example.

這次演示是一個完美的例子。

We saw what's possible when cutting edge technology

我們看到了當尖端科技

is combined with human curiosity and creativity.

與人類的好奇心和創造力 結合時達成的成果。

So let's build tools that empower people,

因此，讓我們創造 能夠賦予人們力量的工具，

applications that break down barriers

打破障礙的應用程式

and systems that unlock a world of possibilities.

和開啟無限可能性的系統。

I think that's an idea worth spreading.

我認為這是一個值得傳播的想法。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Cheers and applause)

（歡呼聲和掌聲）