At Rise of AI 2018 in Berlin, Kevin Warwick, Professor of Cybernetics, argues that rather than AI acting against humans, linking human nervous systems directly to AI and technology can upgrade human capability, and presents a series of experiments he has personally run rather than theoretical proposals. He describes an early RFID implant in his own arm that let a building recognize him, cultures of rat and later human brain cells (up to about 60 million cells) that learn through Hebbian learning to control a small robot's movement, and deep brain stimulation work with neurosurgeon Tipu Aziz for Parkinson's disease, where an AI system classifies disease subtype and predicts tremor onset 10 to 20 seconds in advance from electrode signals sent to a system located 30-35 miles away. He then describes his own BrainGate implant, used to control a robot hand over the internet between New York and England, to sense distance through ultrasonic pulses while blindfolded, and to exchange a basic telegraphic signal directly between his and his wife's nervous systems, which he presents as an early step toward brain-to-brain and brain-to-machine communication.
Key takeaways
- Warwick had an RFID implant in his arm decades before the term biohacking existed, letting his university building recognize and respond to him.
- His lab grew up to around 60 million human brain cells that learn via Hebbian learning to steer a small robot away from walls.
- With neurosurgeon Tipu Aziz, an AI system fed electrode data classifies Parkinson's disease type and predicts tremor onset 10 to 20 seconds early.
- In one experiment the patient was in Oxford while the AI system analyzing their brain signals ran 30 to 35 miles away in Reading.
- Using his own BrainGate implant, Warwick controlled a robot hand in England from New York over the internet and directly exchanged nervous-system signals with his wife.
Detailed notes
Early biohacking: an RFID implant
Warwick describes having an RFID device implanted in his arm by his doctor before the term "biohacking" existed, powered without a battery by induction coils in his university building's doorframes. As he walked through, the building recognized him: lights switched on, doors opened, and a voice greeted him by name, the same underlying technology now common in pet microchips.
Biological brain cells learning to control a robot
Warwick describes cultures of rat embryo brain cells, later scaled up to around 60 million human brain cells in three dimensions, grown on electrode arrays and given a small wheeled robot body with ultrasonic sensors. Electrical stimulation of the culture produces an output that turns the robot right; through Hebbian learning, pathways that successfully avoid a wall get repeatedly reinforced, so after about two months the same robot reliably detects and turns from obstacles, a process he compares to how humans learn to drive a familiar route automatically. He raises the open question of whether such biological-technological hybrids could be considered conscious.
AI and deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease
Working with neurosurgeon Tipu Aziz at the Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, Warwick describes deep brain stimulation, where electrodes implanted in the thalamus or subthalamic nucleus deliver pulses around 150 Hz to relieve Parkinson's symptoms. Beyond stimulation, the electrodes also monitor brain activity, which is fed into an AI system that classifies which type of Parkinson's disease a patient has and predicts tremor or muscle-locking onset 10 to 20 seconds before it starts, with the AI system itself located 30-35 miles away in Reading while the patient is in Oxford. The goal is stimulation delivered only on demand, triggered by the AI, rather than continuously. A planned video demonstration of a patient, named in the talk as Mr. Plasmon, failed to play during the talk.
Networked bodies and the BrainGate implant
Warwick describes Campbell Aird, who lost an arm to cancer and controls a robot arm via a switch, and argues that with a true brain-machine interface, a person's nervous system could instead connect directly to artificial limbs, or to systems like heating, a building or a car, meaning the brain and body no longer need to be in the same place. He then describes his own BrainGate implant, a hundred-electrode array placed in his nervous system via the median nerve in his left arm for research rather than medical purposes.
BrainGate experiments: sensing, control and direct communication
With the BrainGate implant, Warwick describes wearing blindfolded ultrasonic sensors that sent current pulses of increasing frequency as objects approached, giving him a felt sense of distance and movement; jewelry worn by his wife that changed color based on his nervous-system signals; and, from Columbia University in New York, closing his hand to control a robot hand in England over the internet, with fingertip sensors sending signals back to his nervous system, each direction delayed by about a third of a second. He notes the same approach has since let paralyzed patients control a robot hand to feed themselves. Most significant to him personally was linking his and his wife's nervous systems directly, exchanging basic telegraphic pulses each time one of them closed a hand, which he presents as an early step toward brain-to-brain and brain-to-machine communication.
Quotes
If one neuron fires and fires another neuron, it strengthens the connection between the neurons, which means it's more likely to fire next time.
Kevin Warwick
Your brain and your body do not have to be in the same place anymore.
Kevin Warwick
In the future it won't just be from nervous system to nervous system, it'll be from brain to brain.
Kevin Warwick
Questions answered in this talk
How did Kevin Warwick demonstrate a robot learning through Hebbian learning?
According to Kevin Warwick at Rise of AI 2018, his lab grew rat and later human brain cells on electrode arrays and gave them a small robot body; pathways that successfully made the robot turn away from walls were repeatedly reinforced, so after about two months the same robot reliably avoided obstacles.
How is AI used in deep brain stimulation treatment for Parkinson's disease?
Kevin Warwick said at Rise of AI 2018 that, working with neurosurgeon Tipu Aziz, electrode signals from deep brain stimulation implants are fed into an AI system that classifies the patient's type of Parkinson's disease and predicts tremor onset 10 to 20 seconds before it starts, aiming to trigger stimulation only on demand.
What was Kevin Warwick's BrainGate implant experiment with his wife?
According to Kevin Warwick at Rise of AI 2018, he and his wife each had electrodes connected to their nervous systems and exchanged basic telegraphic pulses whenever one of them closed a hand, which he describes as an early form of direct nervous-system-to-nervous-system communication.