Korea IT Times celebrates its 20th anniversary with insightful columns from local and international thought leaders. Following contributions from experts from all walks of life in July, August, and September, we are pleased to present our October contributors.
- Jong-Shik Kim, Chair Professor: Brain-Computer Interface (BCI)
- Byoung Min Im, Columnist: In the Age of AI, the Best Language Mankind Can Dream of Is Hangul
- Hyoung Joong Kim, Chairman of the Korean Society of Fintech and Chair Professor of Digital Financial Management at Hoseo University: Movement to Establish a Desirable Virtual Asset Protection Foundation
- Piyush Gupta, Founder and CEO of Polytrade: RWA’s IRL: The Power of Tokenization to Disrupt Legacy Industries
- Cho, Sung Kap, Chair Professor at Anyang University: Reviewing the presentations of the global top 10 IT companies
- Miguel Buffara, Lead Financial Engineer at RACE: New Opportunities Unlocked by Tokenizing Luxury Goods for HNWIs in Asia
- Dana Cohen, Product Marketing Manager at Sony Semiconductor Israel: Optimizing Trackers with LTE-M: Connectivity Advantages Explained
- Choe Chong-dae, Columnist: Celebrating Thai Heritage and Friendship: The Sawasdee Seoul 2024
By Dr. Jong-Shik Kim
Brain-Computer Interface (BCI)
The AI craze is raging. The fantastic capabilities and capacities of AI, brought about by the emergence of generative AI, are now so close to us that failure to understand or harness them will affect business operations and our general social life. This craze will continue for a while, but what other areas will have a transformative impact on our future alongside AI?
One such field is BCI, and its leading player, Neuralink, is well known for the halo effect of its founder, Elon Musk. In 2023, the company's vision restoration device, Blindsight, was recognized by the US FDA as a 'breakthrough device,' allowing human clinical trials to proceed more quickly than the standard process. Blindsight sends brain waves from people with optic nerve damage to an external computer, reproducing visual images through 1024 tiny sensors attached to brain cells. Earlier this year, Neuralink attached the sensors to the cerebral cortex of a 29-year-old man who was paralyzed from the neck down in an accident eight years ago. The sensors allowed the man to play video games. It's a breakthrough in technology.
BCI was initially developed for military purposes, as with many technologies. Research and investment in BCI have accelerated in recent years, driven by advances in digital technology and the knowledge that BCI began in the 1970s. The main application for the technology is in the medical field, where it could be a breakthrough for people whose nerves have been damaged in an accident or otherwise, allowing them to bypass the nerves and connect directly to external devices via sensors to activate a variety of devices and software to help them perform desired actions. For the late British physicist Dr. Stephen Hawking, who was almost entirely paralyzed by Lou Gehrig's disease, sitting in a wheelchair, clicking words on a computer screen with his fingers, and speaking slowly to a speech synthesizer, BCI could have made an enormous difference to his quality of life.
Neuralink measures brain signals by inserting sensors into the brain inside the skull. The sensors must be surgically connected as close to the brain cells as possible to measure weak brain waves accurately. Neuralink has been conducting animal studies since 2017, including monkeys, to overcome these challenges and ensure the safety and effectiveness of the procedure. Inserting and fixing the many sensors into the brain cells inside the skull is not straightforward. Some test animals have suffered accidents or been killed in the process. Some groups have criticized the company, claiming that the process constitutes animal cruelty. Some company employees have accused Elon Musk of unnecessarily stressing and sacrificing animals for quick results.
Unlike Neuralink, technology is being developed to measure brain waves without inserting sensors into the brain. Researchers at a Japanese university have succeeded in analyzing human brain waves and using AI to generate high-resolution images. Subjects were shown a series of images, and their brain waves were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The scanned images were then converted with the help of a generative AI model. The experiment, carried out on four people, reproduced images resembling the real thing. This technology will help people suffering from physical paralysis communicate in the future.
A BCI company called Neurable uses headphones to receive and measure brain waves, which are picked up by soft cloth sensors and recorded through an electroencephalogram (EEG) device. The company then applies AI to gauge your focus on a task or when you need to take a break to avoid burnout.
Experts predict that BCIs can use AI to alleviate or treat many forms of psychiatric symptoms, such as depression and bipolar disorder, which is why the market for BCIs, which was valued at about $2 billion in 2023, is expected to more than triple by 2030. With all of these positive effects, there are also challenges. Like AI, there is no standardization of BCI devices, which raises the need for safety oversight, and it is unclear whether these procedures will be covered by health insurance. The security of the user's or patient's brainwave data is a significant concern, as it could be misused or exploited. Shortly, BCI could be used to read people's thoughts and train their brains to improve memory and cognition. Like AI, BCI is a groundbreaking technology that crosses expectations and concerns.
About the Author
Dr. Jong-Shik Kim is a Chair Professor at aSSIST University and a visiting professor at Hanyang University. With a deep interest in the startup ecosystem, he is an advisor on leadership and decision-making for emerging technology-based ventures. From 2013 to 2023, Dr. Kim operated the Master of Science in Technology Management program of Stony Brook University at aSSIST University. He also demonstrated over 20 years of senior leadership in global corporations, including serving as the CEO of Cummins' business and investments in Korea, China, and Asia and as Tata-Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Ltd., a Korean subsidiary of Tata Group. Dr. Kim earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Seoul National University (1977), a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology (1981), and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University (1986).
