Mind Reading Is Now Possible

Scientists are keenly aware of the ethical issues posed by reading minds. For one thing, it probably isn't necessary, if you decide to read people's thoughts, to get them to lie still in an fMRI tube and think. Nothing in physics rules out remote detection of brain activity. In fact, says law professor Hank Greely of Stanford, an infrared device under development might read thoughts using little more than a headband. He can imagine a despot scanning citizens' brains while they look at photos of him, to see who's an opponent. The use of mind reading in criminal and terrorism investigations seems inevitable, raising issues of reliability and self-incrimination. As with all technology, some uses will bring unalloyed benefits (translating a quadriplegic's thoughts to move a prosthetic limb). Other uses … well, as Greely says, "we really don't know where this will end." That mind reading has begun, however, there is now no doubt.

© 2008