Recently, the American company "Neural Link" successfully conducted the first human implantation of a brain-computer interface device, enabling the user to control a computer mouse through thoughts. The developers claim that in the future, implant recipients will be able to control smartphones, computers, and other devices solely through their thoughts. Technological advancements are not merely about the replacement of tools and methods but will further influence various aspects of human life. Currently, people access vast amounts of information through smartphones. With the development of new technologies such as brain-computer interfaces, artificial intelligence, and big data, how will technology reshape the information ecosystem for humans in the future?
Brain-Computer Interfaces and Artificial Intelligence Transforming How Humans Access Information
The information ecosystem, as a complex and multidimensional concept, plays a crucial role in society today. It comprises information itself, the application of information technology, and the intricate interactive relationships among information users, forming a complex yet orderly ecosystem. In this ecosystem, information generation, circulation, application, and feedback loop continuously inject vitality into our lives, work, and innovation.
Before the advent of the internet, due to the scarcity of channels and information, even actively seeking information might not yield much desired content, and the process of active searching was often cumbersome and inconvenient.
With the progress and innovation of technology, there has been a revolutionary change in human information ecosystems. Nowadays, people receive a vast amount of information pushed by big data algorithms daily, greatly reducing the cost and effort of accessing information. With the flourishing development of emerging technologies, such as brain-computer interfaces and artificial intelligence, the blueprint for the future will bring about further changes in how humans access information.
A brain-computer interface is a direct channel connecting the brain to external devices, with profound and extensive potential impacts. With a brain-computer interface, individuals can interact with electronic devices or networks directly through their brains, bypassing traditional input devices like keyboards, mice, or touchscreens. This new means of information interaction will significantly alter daily life and work processes.
Through brain-computer interfaces, the human brain will be able to interact with the external world in unprecedented ways. In the future, the speed at which humans access information will increase. This is because traditional methods of information retrieval rely on sensory reception through vision, hearing, etc., constrained by biology and physics. Brain-computer interfaces, however, can extract information directly from brain neurons, bypassing these limitations and enabling ultra-fast information transmission. This means that humans will be able to access and process information at speeds never before possible.
Brain-computer interfaces can directly transmit information processed by computers to the brain, enhancing human cognitive abilities. For example, extending human memory, improving attention, enhancing learning abilities, etc., will make humans more efficient and accurate in information processing and decision-making.
However, there is a need to be wary of accompanying information security and privacy issues. For example, hackers may attempt to steal personal thoughts or memories through brain-computer interfaces. Therefore, ensuring the information security and privacy protection of brain-computer interfaces will be an important issue in the future.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning can process vast amounts of information and, through deep learning and pattern recognition, discover hidden patterns and trends in the information. Based on these, artificial intelligence and machine learning greatly improve decision-making efficiency and accuracy. This automated decision-making ability has been widely applied in industrial production, financial services, healthcare, education, and daily life. For example, in finance, with the help of artificial intelligence and machine learning, financial institutions can analyze historical transaction data and market trends to predict future market trends and risk situations, thereby formulating more precise and effective investment strategies. In the medical field, through artificial intelligence and machine learning, doctors can provide more precise and personalized diagnosis and treatment plans for patients based on their genetic data, lifestyle habits, etc., improving treatment effectiveness and patient satisfaction. In the smart home field, through artificial intelligence and machine learning, smart home systems can automatically learn users' lifestyle habits and preferences, and adjust home environments accordingly, providing users with a more comfortable and convenient living experience.
In the future world, artificial intelligence and machine learning will become an indispensable part of human life. They will deeply integrate into work, learning, and entertainment, providing us with more convenient and efficient information services.
Future information will be more "understanding" of each individual
If the state of "vast amounts of information" is the "past tense" of the human information world, and the state of "data algorithms" is the "present tense" that is happening and that we are experiencing, then intelligent media and virtual reality are the "future tense" worth looking forward to.
With the development of technology, especially the continuous advancement of artificial intelligence technology, the ability to collect, generate, distribute, push, and receive feedback on personalized information will become more precise, rich, and perfect. Moreover, the power of artificial intelligence in the era can invisibly provide us with wiser information.
The next stage of human information acquisition will involve fewer physical limitations - computers will be implanted into all objects, hidden in the background, and sometimes even disappear completely, but humans will be surrounded by them, able to access intelligent assistants instantly wherever they are.
In recent years, foldable screen technology has increased the visual area of smartphones. With the development of flexible screen technology and mechanical structures, screens of electronic devices will be able to fold and unfold more freely. In the future, laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc., may be integrated into a lightweight "electronic paper", which can unfold to reveal a virtual keyboard, fold to be used as a tablet, and fold again to become a smartphone. Such a simple form can provide us with an extremely prosperous information world.
Highly sensitive, high-speed, and high-information storage capacity interconnected intelligent screens will be everywhere in people's lives. Tables, walls, glass, refrigerators, etc., can all be intelligent screens. Clicking anywhere can access relevant device and service information. These screens can also serve as computers and smartphones. All information is stored in the cloud, unlocked through methods like facial recognition, allowing users to log into personal accounts and access content stored in the cloud on these screens. People will have electronic devices anytime, anywhere, and not relying on or even discarding physical devices will become a new information ecosystem. Future information will be more "intelligent" for each individual, even adapting to our information and behavioral habits without the need for explicit instructions. Artificial intelligence possesses powerful learning capabilities, and in the future, everyone's cognition and behavioral habits will be embodied in their own robotic chefs, coffee machines, lighting systems, cars, wardrobes, e-books, and various types of smart screens.
Beware of the crises and challenges behind the "new" and "change."
In the sci-fi movie "Avatar," the protagonist Jake Sully, paralyzed from the waist down, transfers his consciousness into the "avatar" body on the planet Pandora through a special device. In reality, with the advancement of technology, situations where the body and consciousness exist in both physical and virtual spaces will no longer be mere fantasies.
People may gradually become accustomed to the dual existence of "physical + virtual." To a considerable extent, people will inhabit two spaces, possess two bodies, and engage in two modes of existence every day: one in the physical material world and the other in the virtual network space.
Before computers and the internet, people acquired information through physical spaces and used physical objects for cognition, such as reading books. Now, to a significant extent, reliance is placed on the virtual world. The networked virtual space has formed a highly integrated information system, where information's creation, publication, dissemination, reception, and feedback are completely "de-materialized."
This facilitates highly penetrative information dissemination. Without physical carriers of information, such as mass transportation of books, the circulation speed of information in cyberspace continuously breaks limits. Any piece of information posted in this virtual space can be rapidly captured by people in any corner of the Earth simultaneously.
In the future, virtual reality devices will become more lightweight, affordable, and with increasing clarity. The physiological comfort of experiencing virtual reality will continually improve. With the continuous integration of virtual reality and artificial intelligence technologies, coupled with chips implanted in the brain, there will be a revolutionary change in how people access information and experience it in the virtual world. Regardless of where people are, be it in their living rooms, rural fields, the Arctic, or the equator, with virtual reality, they can instantly and realistically immerse themselves in the environment, scenes, and crowds where information is occurring. They can experience information and its surroundings immersively through sight, sound, smell, touch, etc., even if the location of this information is physically distant or even virtual.
Furthermore, to mimic the human sensory system, scientists are also working on developing "electronic skin." In 2023, researchers at the Moscow Institute of Electronic Technology and the First Moscow State Medical University developed two sets of strain sensors: tactile sensors and stretchable sensors. These newly developed sensors, made from biological or biocompatible materials, can accurately record various forms of deformation as well as surface shapes like stretching, bending, convexity, and concavity. These sensors can be used to create "electronic skin" that is soft and has tactile sensing capabilities similar to human skin.
In the future, with lightweight and thin "electronic skin" attached to critical parts of our bodies, coupled with virtual reality and powerful, adaptive artificial intelligence technology, people will be able to "shake hands" and "hug" distant individuals in the virtual world as if they were physically present. They will feel each other's presence just like in the physical world, even if one's life has ended in the physical space, they can persist in the virtual space.
This seems wonderful, yet faced with the rapid development of technology, humanity also needs to beware of the loss of "human" subjectivity due to blind and excessive embrace of technological waves. When people immerse themselves deeply in the virtual world for a long time, they may gradually lose their perception of the real world. The vast amount of information may lead people into anxiety about information selection, exhausting them as they deal with various information flooding in every day. This could lead to a lack of energy and ability to transform this information into deep understanding, resulting in stagnation in outdated information and difficulties in creating new knowledge. Additionally, whether the information in the virtual world, such as portraits, voices, names, etc., infringes upon the personality interests and dignity of humans in the real world, and whether highly anthropomorphic virtual entities will induce "emotional dependence" among humans, are ethical and moral issues that need to be deeply explored.
Technological progress is changing the way people access information, and this "new" and "change" is unstoppable. While humanity enjoys this convenience, it also needs to face the crises and challenges behind it. At this moment, humanity should continuously improve the positive relationship between technological innovation and information and perfect the information ecosystem with high intelligence and responsibility.
(Author: Liu Jun, Professor at the Communication University of China, and a special researcher at the Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era Research Center in Beijing)
