Cybernetics and the Future of Fun

If you’re looking for the future of fun, you may need to look no further than your own brain. Within the next thirty years, humanity will likely become more comfortable incorporating wireless technology into our biological functioning, particularly our neural functioning, to create sensory experiences and thoughts that are literally beyond our comprehension today. For instance, we now know that the human retina uses .02 grams of neuron mass to send data to the brain, which, in turn, uses 75,000 times more neuron mass to analyze data it’s received. Funneling thousands of bits of information through a tiny filter (.02 grams) is a very inefficient way to deliver data. Implants could allow for faster processing of bigger, more amazing thoughts. We've also found that different neuron types respond uniquely to various genres of music. That means we actually use one set of neurons to process classical music and another type to comprehend house music. Implants will enable us to target those neurons more directly.

Think we'll never let scientists put implants in our brains? Consider the success of the today’s Cochlear implant. They're small devices that doctors surgically insert near the skull to improve hearing in the impaired. They're also a great example of how willing we already are to explore electronic enhancement. Today, implants are used solely for medicinal purposes, but there’s no reason why a similar gadget couldn’t be wired to receive phone calls, email, or--working in tandem with special contact lenses--allow for Web surfing. A microchip hooked up to your cerebellum might sound uncomfortable, but keep in mind; it wasn’t long ago that people scoffed at the idea of carrying around portable phones.

Two major obstacles stand in the way of widespread use of cybernetics for fun and amusement. The first is heat. Cochlear implants are fitted next to the skull, not actually connected to the brain. The bulk of the implant doesn’t even come into contact with any neurons. Researchers at the Max Planck institute in Germany have attempted to incorporate circuitry with mammalian brain matter (rat neurons). Their research has shown that it's possible to connect a neuron to a chip-bed and get a working circuit, but the heat tends to fry the brain bits. In the near future, ambient energy--defined roughly as vibrations in the surrounding environment--could provide power to cybernetic implants or nanodevices that function in the brain. These implants or nanodevices could use zinc oxide nanowires to draw energy from vibrations caused by the flow of blood throughout your body , or they could derive power from ultrasonic waves.

The second obstacle to widespread use of cybernetics for enhancement is more existential. Curing a hearing disorder with a Cochlear is entirely different than improving upon otherwise perfect hearing. That's because most of what we call hearing occurs not in the ear but in the brain. For all our technological cleverness, we understand very little about our own thinking organs, least of all how to augment a design that’s far superior to anything humankind has ever come up with.

The good news is that we are learning more all the time. In the future, we’ll become more adept at targeting our visual and our sound (music) neurons and getting them to spark in all sorts of interesting ways. As we come to better understand how perception works, science will give us devices that will enable us experience more than we ever thought possible. And we won't even have to leave our own brains.