Tencent Digital (outside the cloud) In Silicon Valley, there are many people who think that smart machines can do many things in the future. For example, let the machine drive the car. The machine can meet the demand before we ask for it. Technology entrepreneur Bryan Johnson (Bryan Johnson) ) Also think so. The difference is that Brian Johnson hopes to find a way to enhance the human brain so that it can be compared with the machine.
Johnson founded a company called Kernel, based in Venice Beach. The company is developing a chip that can be implanted into the brain. The chip can help some people with nerve damage, such as suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Sick and concussed person. Some top nervous system scientists are developing chips (they call this technology a nerve prosthetics technology). In the future, chips can enhance human intelligence, memory, and other cognitive abilities. Johnson knew that it would take several years to develop such a device, but he was willing to wait. In 2013, Johnson sold his established payment company, Braintree, to PayPal for $800 million.
"Look at the relationship between human intelligence and artificial intelligence. Human intelligence is equivalent to the exclusion zone. The biggest problem lies in the degradation of the body and brain." Johnson said in an interview, "As we progress, if human beings continue to stand at the forefront, Standing in the center, this issue will become more and more important."
Silicon Valley began to value people themselves
Some elite entrepreneurs believe that Silicon Valley can play its role to provide financial support for large-scale scientific research and development projects, for example, to improve people's lives by developing software.
In the past two years, some VC companies have invested in start-up companies that specialize in "bio-hacking" technology research. These VC companies include Y Combinator, Andreessen Horowitz, the fund founded by Peter Tell, and Khosla Ventures; the so-called "bio- "Hacking" means that an engineer can engineer a person's body just like a software project.
These companies have ambitious goals, such as sorting visceral bacteria, modifying human DNA at birth, and performing biopsy through blood samples. VC also supports some perception-enhancing technology companies, such as Thync, which developed a helmet that sends electronic pulse signals to the brain—signals change according to mood; and the startup Nootrobox, which develops chewable coffee tonics. , Tonic combines caffeine and green tea active ingredients.
Laurie Zoloth, professor of bioethics and medical humanities at Northwestern University (USA) believes that although Silicon Valley is not without arrogance, these projects can indeed accelerate the development of science and allow breakthrough technologies to emerge early. It can also make up for funding gaps, because public funds support scientific research is falling.
There is one reason why technical personnel are encouraged: more and more biological and health problems are related to data and computing. These problems are very similar to those previously solved. For example, large-scale genome sequencing was once considered to be the key to cancer treatment. Compared with current methods, it can help doctors discover diseases earlier; due to the decrease in the cost of sequencing, the cost of storing and analyzing data is also decreasing. Gradually become a practical technology, many companies invest in this field.
Using chips to enhance human perception
Kernel's goal is very practical, it wants to enhance people's perception ability. Kernel’s founding philosophy originated from Theodore Berger, a pioneer in the field of biomedical engineering. He is also the director of the Center for Neuroengineering at the University of Southern California. Kernel has hired Berg as chief scientist.
Implantable devices can simulate how human brain cells communicate with one another. For example, when you talk to your boss, a healthy brain emits a series of electrical signals that transform the conversation from short-term memory to long-term memory. The encoding of the signal varies from person to person and is unique, and is somewhat similar to software instructions.
If you have brain disease, patients will ignore these signal codes. Berger's software can enhance the communication of brain cells because it can predict health codes and then send signals in a healthy mode. In the past few years, the US Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has provided financial support for a number of independent research projects that found Berg's chips can enhance the memory of mice and monkeys.
A year ago, Berg felt that his research had reached a critical point. He wanted to test his equipment on the human body and wanted to commercialize the product. In October 2015, Johnson called him.
Berg did not know Johnson. After searching Google, he learned that he was a technology entrepreneur. He once founded a payment processing company and invested in startup companies. At the end of the month, the two met in Berg's office. They talked for four hours, and they did not even have dinner. At the end of the day, Johnson said he would invest funds and the two would work together to start a business.
Johnson has always been obsessed with intelligence and the brain, and calling Berg is just an episode.
OS Fund Fund
Shortly after the sale of Braintree, Johnson set up his own new company. He spent six months talking to people he knew who were developing "some bold projects", which could amount to 200 people in total. Johnson said: "I need to know what these people think in their hearts, how they know what they want to do and why they should do it."
Later, Johnson set up a $100 million fund to invest in science and technology start-up companies that are committed to improving people’s quality of life. The name of the fund is called OS Fund. All funds are provided by Johnson. Why is it so named? Because Johnson hopes the companies he supports can change the world at the operating system level. Johnson has a goal to turn the project from a “crazy stage to an achievable scheme.†Some start-ups want to dig out rare metals and water from asteroids, others prepare to deploy drones in developing countries, and an AI company. Prepare to build the world's largest human genetic database.
At the same time, Johnson continued to focus on intelligence, both artificial intelligence and human intelligence. Johnson saw that AI is developing rapidly. In contrast, the evolution of the human brain has obviously fallen behind. So Johnson set up a team of neuroscientists who asked them to sort through all the important research projects. The overall goal was to set up a brain science company. In the end, the company selected Berg.
Ten months later, the team began to draw a sketch of the prototype device and then tested the patient in the hospital's epilepsy department. They want to be able to start clinical tests, but before you do this you have to solve one problem: Make the device more portable.
Intelligence is the most powerful resource
Professor Laurizo Ross said that there is a big risk for technicians to provide financial support for scientific research projects, that is, they provide funds according to their own preferences and are out of touch with the public interest. The human brain has unlimited potential, but many people do not have enough resources to fully release their potential, let alone enhance it. Zoross also believes that if science and technology billionaires provide funds to support scientific research, they may not pay attention to the interests of most of the public. On the contrary, if creative university teachers provide research funding, they may be more interested in the needs of the poor.
Johnson knew there were concerns. He thought that implanting chips in human brains to make them smarter seemed a bit distant. The company’s goal was to develop a product that was affordable and even if it did, there were many challenge. Johnson pointed out that from the very beginning, many scientific discoveries and inventions were directed at the powerful groups, but in the end they brought benefits to the entire human race. Johnson said that Kernel serves patients, and countless people have lost memories because of brain confusion. Even a little more memory can help many people regain their dignity and improve their quality of life.
Johnson also believes that in the era of AI, enhancing the brain has attracted public attention. He said: "No matter what dreams we have, such as flying a car or boarding Mars, we cannot leave human intelligence. Human intelligence is the most powerful resource that exists. It is a basic tool."
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Source: washingtonpost
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