Facebook is not averse to innovation. But now, the company could be take a giant leap forward, possibly creating the first ever “mind reading” device. Freaky?
Facebook could actually be working, not on one, but four new consumer products to be announced at the upcoming F8 Conference in April. A new AR device, a drone (take that Snapchat!), a medical project and more intriguing than everything else… a mind reading device?
Yes, Facebook is building a “brain computer interface” which would allow users to share information telepathically. And it’s not the first time this comes up: Mark Zuckerberg had hinted such a platform/product was on its way back in 2016. In a Q&A session, Facebook’s CEO described how people would soon be able to
[quote]capture a thought, what you’re thinking or feeling in kind of its ideal and perfect from in your head, and be able to share that with the world.[/quote]
Of course, if such device becomes capable to read our minds, I’m 100% convinced that “share that with the world” will mean share that on Facebook. It makes sense, right?
Now this will probably be “just” an announcement and not the launch of the “mind reader” itself. Zuckerberg himself has hinted that research would take several decades for such a product to be completely accurate and safe to use. And that is not even taking into account the privacy issues such a product would raise immediately.
However, just the thought of it (see what I did here?) is amazing. And scary. And fantastic. And freaky…
All these surprising and intriguing projects are the fruit of Facebook’s new futuristic hardware division called Building 8 (Facebook’s equivalent to Google X.)
[box]Read more: What If The Next Snap Hardware Was A Drone?[/box]