Facebook wants to read your mind and is developing the capability to do so at a hardware division in California focused on brain computer interface technology.
Recruitment ads at the facility for a number of neuroscience based positions have sparked speculation that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s dream of telepathic communication through technology could be on its way.
So if you thought Facebook already knows too much about you be prepared for things to be taken to the next level.
The mysterious Building 8 group was launched last year as a DARPA-style agency to drive innovation in “augmented and virtual reality, artificial intelligence, connectivity and other important breakthrough areas.”
The division is headed by former DARPA director and Google executive Regina Dugan and was given an investment commitment of hundreds of millions of dollars by Zuckerberg.
Several open job postings seeking “slightly impatient” individuals are currently listed for a two year technical project.
A brain-computer interface engineer is sought to work in the area of "neuroimaging" and "electrophysiological data" while another position of neural imaging engineer is seeking professionals to develop non-invasive neural imaging methods.
The project is also seeking a haptics specialist to help the company use touch interactions to build “realistic and immersive” experiences.
In a Q&A last year Zuckerberg described how people would be able to “capture a thought... in its ideal and perfect form in your head and share that with the world.”
“One day, I believe we’ll be able to send full rich thoughts to each other directly using technology. You’ll just be able to think of something and your friends will immediately be able to experience it too if you’d like,” he said.
While little has been revealed about how the project will progress we could be looking at a future where Facebook users will no longer have to click ‘like’ on that funny cat post - the warm fuzzy thought of it will be enough to produce the effect.
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