Scientists at the University of Texas, Austin have developed an AI that can accurately recreate stories from a person’s brainwaves. By having participants listen, watch, or imagine a story while sitting in an fMRI machine, the AI was able to pick up on the concepts triggered in their minds and produce an approximation of the story. While it didn’t reproduce the story word-for-word, the researchers believe that this technology could one day be used to help those who have lost the ability to communicate. The AI decoder was also able to capture the essence of a video with no sound through participants’ thoughts. However, the scientists caution that the technique cannot be used for interrogation and is not capable of breaking into private thoughts. The method only relies on brain scans, which means it is non-invasive and does not require surgically implanted brain implants. While currently requiring a large machine, the scientists hope the technology will become more portable in the future.
