Are you a user of Alexa or similar type of device? Using these machines has changed our lives mostly for the better, but it’s also become public knowledge that they are recording our conversations, even when we’re not using them?
Scary to think.
Enter AlterEgo. This new and innovative technology will have you grimacing…or maybe cheering. Depends on who you ask.
What is AlterEgo?
AlterEgo is a new technology created by 24-year-old Arnav Kapur that can read minds! Sort of. This breakthrough ‘reads’ thoughts to help you to interact without using words or moving your mouth. It was specifically created to assist patients who suffer from the inability to talk. And before you start imagining circuits and wires connected to the skull and inner ear, think again. Amazingly, the tech is non-invasive.
AlterEgo uses a system of sensors that read neuromuscular signals in the brain, vocal cords, throat, and tongue. Did you know that even when sitting silently, these signals are constantly going off? This incredible device uses an advanced form of A.I. to translate those signals into words.
Tell me more!
Kapur’s invention recently won the “Use-it!” Lemelson-MIT Student Prize racking up $15,000 in prize money. But that will be small change once Kapur gets this product up and running.
Kapur told the Smithsonian, “A lot of people with all sorts of speech pathologies are deprived of the ability to communicate with other people. This could restore the ability to speak for people who can’t.”
There really are a lot of people who could benefit; lack of speech, while not common, is not uncommon, either. It can occur in anyone with physical or emotional trauma, autism, conversion disorder and more.
Currently, Kapur is strictly testing his invention on those with speech limitation. Specifically in Boston hospitals and treatment centers. This would involve patients with cerebral palsy, ALS, or even stroke.
How accurate is it? According to Kapur’s research, it is an astonishing 92%.
Photo Credit: MIT, Kapur
AlterEgo goes beyond healthcare needs
This software is not only for patients. It can be used for any day to day tasks and may eventually be available for such.
Imagine you’re going out to run errands. You’ve made a mental list of the items you need. But for some reason you forget! AlterEgo could record and save your thoughts, lists, and more. Whenever you forget something, you can silently ask it to recall your list.
Forget pen and paper or even the notes app on your phone. You could use this for meetings, text messages, you could even connect it to Alexa and Echo. A.I. is going to run our world.
In a way, it gives you perfect memory,” Kapur says. “You can talk to a smarter version of yourself inside yourself.”
Should we be frightened?
Kapur says, no. He believes that we’ve forgotten that A.I. is there to help us and understand how it can enhance our lives.
“Somewhere in the last 20 or 30 years we forget that A.I. was meant to enable people.”
Call me old-fashioned, but I’ll stick to pen and paper for now. It all seems just a little bit Black Mirror to me…
