Comments on: How Technology May Soon "Read" Your Mind

60 Minutes: Incredible Research Lets Scientists Get A Glimpse At Your Thoughts

[comeon11]

um, why do we need this? same question should have been asked about the atom bomb. what in the world is wrong with these unnecessarily curious fools?

[zzy-izzy]

Please lets do Bush first to see if there is anything going on at all.

[lukenmax]

It would be great if they put the FMRI technology to work with brain-injured individuals who can''t communicate. My son is 6 and un-diagnosed with developmental delays. We could greatly benefit from reading the imaging of his brain to better understand what part of his brain is thinking (or remembering) and which parts are not. We struggle to understand his wants and needs as he uses very few signs. And he cannot give us a simple yes or no. Yet, he is very social through his eyes and his emotions help direct us on a daily basis. And he exhibits all emotions. He is strong and somewhat able. Loves his toys and his family. We do wonder why his many neurologists along the way never suggested something like the FMRI to us. We''re very interested. Any thoughts or info to help direct us would be much appreciated.
Email: ([e-mail])

[shanev137]

I guess it''s finally time to start a tin foil hat company.

[shanev137]

There is nothing new about this technology. They have been able to influence and manipulate brain waves/frequencies since the 50''s. The only difference now is that the technology as become cheaper and more efficient.

[cbjcb]

I wonder if they tested people who are hard-wired differently than most people (such as autistic or schizophrenic individuals). Technology like this is dangerous -- already they are talking as if we all think alike.

Someone with a good imagination better look out if the government, employers or corporations start using this technology. I don''t want to fear my government when I''m day-dreaming or if I''m working on an elaborate horror novel or murder mystery. Coaches shouldn''t have to worry that the other team can know their plays by reading minds. Employees shouldn''t have to worry about being fired if they secretly think the boss should be kicked to the curb. The potential for misuse and harm is great if people have their brains scanned for thoughts without their permission.

[joesantana-2009]

I think someone missed the ethical questions raised in a Twilight Zone episode in which a young bank employee tossed a coin in a cigar box to buy a paper and because the coin stayed on end he could hear others'' thoughts. At the bank he heard another employee of retirement age planning to embezzle funds. He noted the steps in the plan and reported the old co-worker to the police. Of course, the old man just had these thoughts to amused and entertain himself in an otherwise boring job, and had been doing so for decades of his employment at the bank. Many innocent people could be accused by people whose credibility as scientists would be leveraged by prosecutors.

And what of actors who feel and believe situations in their minds that may be recalled if they were under suspicion of a crime.

I think this is dangerous territory morally and ethically, easily open to abuse.

[berkeleymo]

This report seemed quite misleading, with no scientific caveats. The implication was that in 5 years, you could put your head in an fmri machine and your thoughts would come out on a monitor. I have a nice collection of hats, and I will gladly eat a sampling of them if Just et al can do this. The examples shown were for a limited set of distinct possibilities, as opposed to the open set of what someone can be thinking of - in short, it''s an artificial test. Not that there aren''t uses for the technology, but it''s the implied "no more science fiction" that bothers me. By the way, fmri has a fairly long time constant compared with the speed of natural thought, so you couldn''t really track natural streams of thought that way anyway. It would have been nice if another (competitive?) neuroscientist was directly asked about the implied extension; something like "do you think that in a few years we will be able to read whatever thoughts I am thinking with this kind of technology?" I expect that most neuroscientists would answer this question much more conservatively, and for good reason.

[zuuumiewhite]

The best way to verify the %-of-accuracy of FMRI''s is to take subjects who have worked in areas where retrievable and verifiable Public records including the media, things like audits, & Intel are available starting with current and past living elected officials who have made, may have made, and may make in the future, those intending to run for public office, and people like CEO''s entangled in scandals like Cooking-the-BOOKS, Mortgage scandals, & others.
Although the cover may be that certain questions can''t be asked for fear of Violating National Security, there are questions that could be asked that would be revealing, & in the case of corporate scammers including the likes of Bernie Madoff, "LETS START AT THE TOP."
It would be the best way to judge this technology
ZW

[notmudrose1]

the machine will come up blank on george bush''s mind.

now there''s an oxymoron! pun intended.

[perk235]

Isn''t it amazing how such a complex organ of the body operates on such basic scientific principles?

It used to be thought that vision was too complicated to understand, but that turned out to be basic protein signaling. Now we''re in a vast frontier of learning about the connection between electrical signals and "I".

[centerfall94]

Great research, with fantastic potential.

[callistemon-2009]

stupid computers.

[allzwell]

This technology should be killed in the womb... this is way bad! Who''s paying for this research? Why are they even doing it? What''s their ulterior motive? Making money at the least, that''s a given, but this is the mind police... this could enslave us.

[kkwilson1000]

After watching this program, I told my better half how great it is that we ''read'' one another so well without a computer. In the unlikely event we become confused by one another, we simply ask. Computers may simulate probable brain wave meaning, but will never emulate the beauty of human communication.

[mimidennis2]

I could not believe the story was over without exploring the potential use in the medical field. I have a grand daughter with Rett Syndrome which leaves her unable to speak or use her hands to sign. How great it would be if we knew if she was in pain, or hot, or cold or hungry or if she felt comfortable or even if she knew she was loved. There is presently no way to measure the intelligence level of these children, no way to know what they comprehend. Can this technology help to communicate with her and others like her?

[frankinco]

You beat me to it, b4ucmyI. If the technology will allow mind reading in a few years from now, then it will allow mind WRITING in a few years after that.

We can''t stop technological advances, so we should start preparing now for how to deal with a time when, for example, a person can unknowingly have her political opinions reprogrammed.

[nobdysfool]

Soon humans will be around forever because we''ll have a medical cure & answer for everything. PLEEEEEEEEASE NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

[slshumate]

I feel this should be used for medical purposes. I have a 12 year old son who has Cerebral Palsey, to know when he is in pain would be a dream come true, instead of giving him medication for pain when I don''t know if he is in "severe" pain. I also feel it could benefit people who have had strokes or severe accidents which have left them without the ability to communicate to us the pain they could be in. I am sure we could come up with other reasons (medical reasons)to use this "fMRI". I don''t want people reading my thoughts.

[SwtSnnyD]

This new FMRI is just what those who live in chronic pain need!!! Finally doctors will "sse" our pain and better diagnose our treatment!
How about those with chemical inbalances...and the unknown thousands of other issues that the brain controls?
Don''t read my thoughts, fix what ails me!
I want to know where to sign up for this! I have lived in chronic pain since ''94 having had 5 back surgeries and also suffer from depression. (gee, I wonder why!!)