Mark Zuckerberg wants to create a device for reading thoughts on Facebook

For those who are seriously concerned that FacebookToo deep into people's lives, the recent comments by Mark Zuckerberg made at Harvard should be a disturbing bell. During the nearly two-hour interview with Harvard University law school professor Jonathan Zittrain, which was held in front of cameras and classrooms for students, the CEO of Facebook appeared to cameras almost from all sides. Responding to complaints about ethnic cleansing and censorship in the company and on the platform, Zuckerberg said he did not ask for such a great responsibility. Yes, and no one would, in his words.

"If I were a different person, what I would likefrom the CEO of the company? ”he asked himself. “I wouldn’t want so many content solutions to be concentrated in the hands of any single person.”

Instead, Facebook will create its Supreme Court,he told Zittrain, an external commission charged with resolving sensitive questions about what is happening on the platform. “I will not be able to make a decision that will refute their opinion,” Mark promised.

And this is after the leak of data that Facebook was watching those who wanted evil Zuckerberg, openly expressing their thoughts on the social network.

It would seem that everything went according to plan. Zuckerberg showed long-awaited humility towards himself and his company. But then he described something that really bothered him - and the ugly pride of Silicon Valley turned its face again.

It turns out Facebook is developingneurocomputer interface, promising new technology. The idea is to allow people to intuitively and with the power of thought to orient themselves in augmented reality - a neuro-controlled version of the world, that mirror world, about which we have already written. Neither typing nor talking, nothing should distract you from interacting with digital additions to the landscape: navigation instructions will be superimposed directly on the freeway; small biographies will float alongside conference attendees; three-dimensional models of furniture will surround you while moving around the apartment.

Facebook wants to help people in augmented reality

The Harvard audience was a little dumbfounded soturn the talk. Zittrain even joked on the fact that everyone will have the constitutional right to remain silent in the presence of technology that eavesdropping on thoughts. But even here, the already proven protection of large technology companies from criticism for violation of user privacy will work: consent of the users themselves. “Presumably,” Zuckerberg said, “it will be something that someone will choose to use as a product.”

In short, Zuckerberg does not give up hismissions connect people around the world for fun and profit. As from the dark images of policemen probing the brain. And even apologizes in advance. “I don’t know how we got here,” he said cheerfully, “but I’m a little aware of future technologies and research, they are very interesting.”

Of course, Facebook is already following people whenthey travel the world, using GPS and a smartphone in their pocket, and track their online activity in the same way. Will we really allow Facebook to penetrate our bodies, so that we can order pizza faster and with more filling? Zuckerberg definitely counts on this.

Frankly, Facebook is not planningpenetrate the brain. First, the surgical implant, according to Zuckerberg, will not scale well: "If you are actually trying to create something that everyone will use, you need to pay attention to non-invasive things."

The technology that Zuckerberg describedis a device that looks like a swimming cap. It surrounds the brain and detects connections between specific thoughts and specific blood flow or brain activity, presumably to help the glasses or headsets produced by Oculus VR, which is part of Facebook, work. According to Zuckerberg, scientists can already distinguish when a person thinks about a giraffe or an elephant, based on neural activity. Typing with the power of thought will work on the same principles.

As with many Facebook innovations, Zuckerberg does notsees in the neurocomputer interface anything that violates the integrity of a person - what Louis Brandeis defined as the “right to be left alone” in thoughts. On the contrary, he sees that this technology will expand human capabilities. “The way our phones work today, all the computing systems organized around applications and tasks are fundamentally different from how our brains work and how we comprehend the world,” said Mark. “This is one of the reasons why I’m just delighted with the long-term development of such things as augmented reality - because it will give us a platform that will actually look like how we think about different things.”

There will be more meaning in augmented realitywhen the "smart" version will be on top of the ordinary. “The clock will detect the chairs; chairs will detect spreadsheets; points will find a watch, even under the sleeve; tablets will see the interior of the turbine; the turbines will see workers around. ” Suddenly, our environment, natural and artificial, will work as one. With the exception of people with their insular thoughts and desires. But then they will put points with neurocomputer interfaces.

Zuckerberg explained the potential benefits.This technology is the same as when it announced Facebook research in 2017: “Our brain produces enough data to stream four HD movies every second. The problem is that the best way to transfer information to the world — speech — can transfer as much data as a 1980s modem. We are working on a system that allows you to print text directly from your brain, five times faster than you can type on your phone today. Ultimately, we want to turn this into a wearable technology that can be produced on a large scale. Even a simple “yes / no” button in the head could make the nature of augmented reality much more natural. ”

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