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Are You Ready for the Coming Age of Mass Genius?

Some tech experts believe the intelligence of the human race is about to skyrocket. Some of you, we know, are thinking: “And not a moment too soon!”

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What would account for this ballistic bulge in bubba’s brainpower?

Peter Diamandis thinks he knows. Diamandis holds degrees in molecular genetics and aerospace engineering from MIT, and made his reputation as the best-selling author of Abundance: The  Future Is Better than You Think.  He says the growth of internet connectivity, the cloud, and maturing brain-computer interfaces will bring dramatic acceleration of mass genius. This includes both individual and collective intelligence. Not only will the world at large become smarter, each of us will become a genius.

Mass Genius through Connectivity

The first factor Diamandis cited is connectivity. For most of history, he said, the greatest intellects have been squandered. Many were hindered by barriers of sex, race, ethnicity, class, and culture. Most, though, simply lacked means to communicate their insights to the world.

The coffee houses founded in eighteenth century Britain and continental Europe played a critical role in  destroying these barriers. In the coffee houses, people from all classes and vocations met to discuss ideas, debate them, and refine their own ideas based on the feedback they got from others. The intellectual ferment in the coffee house culture fostered the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution.

Concentrating population in large urban centers extended the idea generating power of the coffee house to many more people.

Diamandis says the internet is our current version of the eighteenth century coffee house and the urban center– but is many times more powerful than both. Our current networks need not be confined to our neighborhoods or our cities; they can now encompass the entire globe.  More than four billion people now have internet connections. Soon all of us will.

The Cloud and Brain-Computer Interfaces

The second factor, Diamandis says, is the cloud, which will be enhanced by brain–computer interfaces. The author says we will soon be able to upload our thoughts to the cloud, and download information directly to our brains. We then can bypass the usual cumbersome learning process. Research will become more efficient by several orders of magnitude, because it will be rooted in what Diamandis calls “the neurological basis for innovation”.

Is Diamandis right about this? We should certainly hope so. We wouldn’t be burdened with so many selfies or cat videos on social media. We might even hear Joy Behar or Barbra Streisand say something sensible.

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Uncle Sam Wants to Read Your Mind

Okay, maybe it’s not your mind Uncle Sam wants to read. The U.S. military, though, is working hard on brain-computer interfaces meant to enable reliable mind-reading.

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Several years ago, the Defense Department began working with Battelle, a private non-profit research firm, to help paralyzed patients control their limbs with neural bypasses. Their first experimental subject, Ian Burkhardt, had crushed several neck vertebrae in a diving accident. As a result, he couldn’t move his arms or legs, though he still had feeling in his hands.

To help Burkhardt, Battelle’s research team first had to measure his brainwave activity, and they needed extreme accuracy in their measurements. They drilled into his skull and attached a ‘Utah device’ to his head. With this they could record his brainwaves 30,000 times per second.

With this information, Battelle refined its algorithms over and over again. Eventually, the team built a cable system connecting a device at the base of Burkhardt’s skull to an electrode-laden sleeve wrapped around his right forearm. With this system, Burkhardt could move his right hand. Eventually, he learned to lift and pour from a bottle. He even learned how to remove his wallet from his pants and open it.

Battelle is now working on developing sensors so sensitive, they can receive and decipher the muddled ‘noisy’ brain signals from outside of the body. Researchers won’t need to drill into the skull.

Where does the research go from here?

Brain control of a subject’s limbs is only the beginning. Before long, we will see direct brain control of external objects. Within a few years, a soldier could control a swarm of drones or a small fleet of tanks merely by thinking of doing so.

The Defense Department wants much more than this. Developing a brain-computer interface for Ian Burkhardt required close reading of his brain activity. With slight tweaking of the algorithm, the DoD could soon learn how to read thoughts and intents of its subjects. Interrogating terror suspects and enemy combatants won’t require hearing their responses to questions, let alone believing them. With an electrode-lade cap, an interrogator can read the suspect’s mind and learn everything he needs to know.

Of course, this raises a troubling question. Would this technology be confined to military purposes? Given what we know about our political and bureaucratic elites, we ought to worry that our would-be rulers will try to read the minds of law-abiding, peaceful civilians.

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