Downloading Data Directly Into Your Brain?

June 22, 2009

A shout-out to reader Raywalt de  Cuba for suggesting this idea.

What if it were possible to connect your brain to the Internet, either wirelessly or through a cable, download digital information at high speed, and then translate it automatically into a chemical form that could be stored by your brain cells as memory?

Downloading directly into your brain would have enormous advantages over our present method of receiving information by reading physical representations of symbols with our eyes, a meatware  interface developed by the Sumerians about 10,000 years ago. If you could pump data directly into your gray matter at, say, 50 mbps — the top speed offered by one major U.S. internet service provider — you’d be able to read a 500-page book in just under two-tenths of a second. (Top that, Evelyn Wood.)

That means you could burn through the entire 29 million-book collection of the Library of Congress in less than two months, provided that you didn’t need to take time off to sleep. (See my earlier blog on wakefulness-promoting drugs and technologies for advice on how to do that.) You’d be vastly more knowledgeable than the brainiest intellectuals on the planet today, or even A.J. Jacobs, that guy who read all 44 million words of the Encyclopedia Britannica  so he could write a book about it.

As usual, there are a few potential downsides. If we were able to download the entire contents of libraries into our brains, it would become increasingly difficult to find a book that everybody hasn’t already read for next month’s book club get together. We might find ourselves spending countless hours posting snarky reviews on Amazon.com. 

Kindle and the Espresso Book Machine would go the way of the eight-track tape player. Authors would become increasingly overworked as they struggled to keep up with the demand for new works of literature. 

And that’s assuming that our brains could handle so much reading. Nobody is really sure how much information the 100 billion neurons in the human brain can actually store, though one neuroscientist has speculated that its maximum capacity may be as high as 100 terabytes, or the equivalent of about 100 million books. And as Chris Chatham’s Developing Intelligence blog points out, the human brain processes information quite differently than a computer.

The brain is an analog device, transmitting information at irregular speeds. And unlike a computer, which retrieves information by polling its memory address, Chatham notes, the brain has content-addressable memory, which means that information can be retrieved by activating related concepts — for example, the word “fox” might trigger thoughts of other small furry mammals, fox-hunting horseback riders or desirable members of the opposite sex. Additionally, unlike a computer, the brain alters the information it stores as it forges new connections. This explains why I can re-read John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath and be surprised to discover that the ending is different from what I seem to remember reading in high-school English class, because over time I had mixed it up with the movie version. Would our neural version of Google be able to process such a vast library of information efficiently? Or would it break down and become hopelessly paralyzed by data smog? Hard to say.

I’m not sure who first thought of the idea of downloading data directly into the human brain. In 1981, cyberpunk writer William Gibson published a short story, “Johnny Mnemonic,” in which the lead character has the equivalent of a hard drive implanted in his head, so that he can store and transport sensitive data for corporate clients. Gibson’s story was the basis for a 1995 movie starring Keanu Reeves. The same actor subsequently appeared in another Gibson-influenced 1999 thriller, The Matrix, in which the network port on the back of his character’s head is used to pump him full of martial-arts expertise and other knowledge. 

In the real world, back in 2000 Michael Saylor, founder of the business intelligence firm MicroStrategy, proposed  someday transmitting the latest information directly into subscribers’ brains. In a Washingtonian magazine story on Saylor, he elaborated on his notion:

Saylor wants to beam information directly into your mind, maybe through transmitters sunk into your skull or an implant behind your eye or a tiny speaker in your ear so he can reach you sleeping or eating or drinking or playing or flying or making love. The network he envisions would tell you about traffic jams or medicine you need to take or a stock you should sell or a book you'd like to read or whether your daughter broke her arm or a neighbor just drove through your basement.
"Our mantra is intelligent e-business, which means personalized, proactive Web, wireless, and voice intelligence, and so this idea that you shouldn't just use the Web site but rather the Web site should bark out to you," he says. "That was a totally new idea."
Translation: Your cell phone or transmitter would alert you with information it thinks you might need, sort of like an omniscient butler in your brain.
MicroStrategy would run this network and make billions in the process, which is Mike Saylor's job but not his goal. It's not why he was put on Earth. Saylor believes he was put here to change the world, to obliterate ignorance, to spread "intelligence everywhere."

More recently, a prominent British educator, Independent Schools Council chief Chris Parry, last year blithely predicted that within 30 years, students would be downloading lessons directly into their brains.  Earlier this year, an organization called the Innerspace Foundation offered a prize for the first device that bypasses the need for traditional learning of information. 

So far, scientists seem to have had more success transmitting transmit information in the other direction, with brain machine interfaces that translate human brain-wave activity into digital form, so that people can operate machines with their thoughts. (Here’s my recent blog on that subject.) But they’re also exploring ways to use the same interfaces to put information into the brain. Electronics giant Sony, for example, reportedly has patented a device for transmitting sensory data — ranging from moving images to tastes and sounds — into the brain by firing pulses of ultrasound. (One big advantage of this method would be that you wouldn’t have to have a surgical implant or a cable plugged into the back of your skull.) 

So what do you think? Should we develop a way of pumping our brains full of information? Or should we resist the temptation to become know-it-alls? Express your opinion below.

Comments

[Spanktar]

Rather than storing the information, I would prefer to have direct *access* to information via a Brain/Machine interface. For example, I want to be able to access Google without using a computer. Then my brain can decide how to store the information, if at all. I don't need to remember all the batting averages of the SF Giants, I just want to access them when I'm at the game.

[Astroboy]

We wouldnt have to go to school anymore YAY!!!

[Dierking]

...This would lead to complete chaos. If this power were to be made accessible to everyone, there would be no knowledge based distinction between a physicist and the check out lady at Wal-Mart. If everyone is a genius, then who is going to make my Subway Footlong or deliver your mail! What will happen to the working class that currently supports the montage of high level thinkers if they all have the capacity to be a chemist or politician?

Ignorance is only meant to be overcome by those with a natural drive to defeat it, not a bunch of freeloaders downloading data into their heads like they’re synching an iPod.

[Einstein]

very true Dierking there are those that would have not only no need for this but wqould not make any use of it, but for those who wish to better the world it may benifit alot

[Nick James]

I volunteer to work at subway if this technology becomes available but I'm pretty sure that they will have to raise the number of Nobel prizes issued on a regular basis. ;D

[Nick James]

@ Einstein-- the same applies to those would wish to do harm to others. :/

- Another thought.. would our brains have the ability to filter spam and would Norton (yuck) sell us some far too heavy and annoying popup blocker/antivirus program to stop the script kiddies from making us pee all over ourselves upon downloading questionable files from the web? xD

[----^----]

Shades of the President's Analyst.

[If I only had a brain]

What about downloading the contents of someone else's brain into your brain? Would that work?

[Caffeine Driven Stress Magnet]

I don't want your stupid brain, bub.If I'm going to download somebody's brain, it would be Picasso or Steven Hawking.

[Petey]

I don't think this process will be anywhere near as pleasurable as reading an actual book.

[sciencegoddess]

The first thing that comes to my mind are studies about the health and the purposes of children delivered vaginally vs. a c-section, how the stress of the natural delivery is advantageous to jumpstarting things to adjust to living in the outer environment. They have also found that people who choose to do liposuction to remove fat rather than exercise and diet, while lighter, do not experience the benefits of health benefits in the same way. I expect we will see similar issues as muscle enhancing drugs are given rather than working out.

Of course, those are mere physiological examples, but a flexible brain seems to be one that has proven itself able to "do", and is a lot of focus when trying to reshape brains of children with developmental disabilities. I wouldn't be surprised that the act of obtaining information isn't part of what makes one smart rather than the information itself.

So ultimately, downloading information may be a great idea once you have proven your brain to be ready for this information.

[Tommy Caruthers]

Sciencegoddess raises an interesting point. The process of acquiring and assimilating knowledge may be as important as amassing data itself--maybe more so.

[Jenni]

I think Astroboy's post is very good evidence of why such technology would indeed be a good thing. Drive and intellect are rarely united. Just because one is a genius does not mean they want to use that brain power at work. I bet there's a genius or two quite content to work at the post office. Fear of arming the working class with knowledge, that's so ignorant, how stupid must he be to be threatened by others having knowledge?

[Natural Man]

Interesting. I don't think Astroboy is a secret genius, though.

[Astroboy]

Natural Man, maybe you're just too stoned on ganja to notice my brilliance.

[Francie]

Put it this way: Astroboy has plenty of storage space for downloading new information. :)

[Astroboy]

Oh, bite my brain stem.

[Mellow Yellow]

Grow up.

[Bryan]

This technology is really great and could be put for great use we just need to know how to use it correctly. We all have played video games right, and once you use cheat codes the game becomes so easy that it's boring and there's no challenge to it. That's why if we just download every little bit of information into our heads what would be the meaning of being life if we all know the same information, have the same skills, and have nothing to talk about that you haven't already heard of. How I think this great technology should be used for is just downloading the basic knowledge you need for everyday life such as the basics of cooking, cleaning, basic math, science, health, whats wrong and wright to do in a situation, and proper usage of language. If we do this you wont have to waste your preciuse years sitting in a room bored and listening to someone talking about stuff that would never help you reach your dream. Now once you learned the basics on everithing you can be sent to a school were all it's students whant to follow the career that you whant to, and the schools only purpose is to teach everything on that exact career. This way depending on how much effort you put in on reaching your dreamm will ditermine on how far you went into your career and if you reached your dream.

Also there is something alse this technology can be put to use for and everybody will love it. If data can be sunk into your mind why not intire worlds. Imagine were you can create your happy place and actually expirience it with your five sences. The way this would work if we all had a chip in our minds that would take the data and then when you are dreamin or some sort of state were you pretty much in dream mode you will show up in a world were you can feel, taste, see, hear, and smell. Whats even better we can destroy those major themepaks and design ultimate theme parks since its in your own world anything could be possible. Know when you take your child in this virtual world,game designers would create real characters and out of this world rides were the gravity has no affect on. Also now Disney Land will truly seem like a magical world with real characters and not weird people in costumes.
This is just a couple of ideas on what Ithink this invention could be use for and if you would like to hear more obout my ideas on this invention just contact me by my eamil Its guitarheroroxbryan@yahoo.com.

[Someone Reading Articles]

This is one of the new technology that is crossing what is human for luxury. Having the internet in your mid is amazing, but our brain doesn't use 100%, so the internet might induce stress and maybe even seizures. Even though it seems like very fictional, people might use this connection to mind control, or kill a person through the internet, like a virus. The first computer virus was created by a middle school student, i think. So in contrast, a terrorist group might do the same with humans. This new technology seems very futuristic, is why some people want it.

[Brian]

If this technology became available, it would speed up humanity's mental evolution, possibly too fast. As to concerns about the distinction between a scientist and a layperson, I would assume that would not be an issue because life would be much different than it is now. If everyone knows everything about everything, society would change. There would be no distinction between physicists or bag ladies, but there wouldn't need to be. No college degrees would be required to be an expert on the subject. Physicists would continue being physicists and bag ladies bag ladies. The only difference is they each know the same about each other's occupation.

This seems to me like a good idea. I believe due to neuroplasticity that the human brain could handle it.

[vicki]

My brain feels like plastic sometimes.

[Traveler]

This could be a huge benefit for learning foreign languages like Japanese, that normally take a decade to learn.

[MastaMind]

This is all fine and dandy. I would absolutely love to know ancient text and foreign languages, and every development in string theory known to man. However, what if Osama Bin Ladin got his hands on this?

Knowledge doesn't mean it will overtake religion. As a matter of fact now that I thought of it. How would the religious receive this? We could be handing a tool to the next generation terrorist on how to actively interact socially with different people all around the world. They could potentially become so smart as to never leave evidence of their plans at all. O.O

[Dennis]

Everyone processes and reacts to information differently. Just because I know everything we know now (up to this point) about physics doesn't mean I want to spend my time as a physicist.
Like Jenni said: drive and intellect are rarely connected. I might dream of becoming a pro football player, even if I have the knowledge of a nobel prize-winning scientist. Science may not be my thing.
And just because everyone has the same info, doesn't mean we can't talk and speculate on our different opinions and perspectives about that info. It wouldn't be the be all end all of learning. We could still use our newfound info to learn even more.

Bottom line: I don't think it would be a "boring" thing at all. It would be a wonderful thing

And for the fearful people: "Terrorists and criminals would have the same info as the people assigned to stop them. It would be an even playing field, kinda like it is right now!"