Human Brain/Cloud Interface

Abstract

The Internet comprises a decentralized global system that serves humanity’s collective effort to generate, process, and store data, most of which is handled by the rapidly expanding cloud. A stable, secure, real-time system may allow for interfacing the cloud with the human brain. One promising strategy for enabling such a system, denoted here as a “human brain/cloud interface” (“B/CI”), would be based on technologies referred to here as “neuralnanorobotics.” Future neuralnanorobotics technologies are anticipated to facilitate accurate diagnoses and eventual cures for the ∼400 conditions that affect the human brain. Neuralnanorobotics may also enable a B/CI with controlled connectivity between neural activity and external data storage and processing, via the direct monitoring of the brain’s ∼86 × 10 9 neurons and ∼2 × 10 14 synapses. Subsequent to navigating the human vasculature, three species of neuralnanorobots (endoneurobots, gliabots, and synaptobots) could traverse the blood–brain barrier (BBB), enter the brain parenchyma, ingress into individual human brain cells, and autoposition themselves at the axon initial segments of neurons (endoneurobots), within glial cells (gliabots), and in intimate proximity to synapses (synaptobots). They would then wirelessly transmit up to ∼6 × 10 16 bits per second of synaptically processed and encoded human–brain electrical information via auxiliary nanorobotic fiber optics (30 cm 3 ) with the capacity to handle up to 10 18 bits/sec and provide rapid data transfer to a cloud based supercomputer for real-time brain-state monitoring and data extraction. A neuralnanorobotically enabled human B/CI might serve as a personalized conduit, allowing persons to obtain direct, instantaneous access to virtually any facet of cumulative human knowledge. Other anticipated applications include myriad opportunities to improve education, intelligence, entertainment, traveling, and other interactive experiences. A specialized application might be the capacity to engage in fully immersive experiential/sensory experiences, including what is referred to here as “transparent shadowing” (TS). Through TS, individuals might experience episodic segments of the lives of other willing participants (locally or remote) to, hopefully, encourage and inspire improved understanding and tolerance among all members of the human family.

Oxygen and brain death; back from the brink

“…Growing and running the human brain is energetically expensive. Structural complexities, computational capabilities and bioenergetic demands reflect whole-brain estimates based on data cited by Azevedo et al (2009); Bailey (2019b); Cherry et al (2018); Engl & Attwell (2015); Herculano-Houzel (2011); Kety (1957); Martins et al (2019); and Waldrop (2012). (a,b) It has been estimated that given its structural complexities, the computational power required to simulate human brain function (such as the Blue Brain simulation, a prototype for the Human Brain Project) needs to fall within the exaflop range, equivalent to 10 18 floating point operations per second (flops) (Waldrop, 2012).…”

“…(); Engl & Attwell (); Herculano‐Houzel (); Kety (); Martins et al. (); and Waldrop (). (a,b) It has been estimated that given its structural complexities, the computational power required to simulate human brain function (such as the Blue Brain simulation, a prototype for the Human Brain Project) needs to fall within the exaflop range, equivalent to 10 18 floating point operations per second (flops) (Waldrop, ).…”

Assessing the Risks Posed by the Convergence of Artificial Intelligence and Biotechnology

“…38 Advances are occurring at a rapid pace and many previous technical bottlenecks that have prevented BCIs from widespread implementation are beginning to be overcome. [39][40][41] Research and development of BCIs have accelerated quickly in the past decade. 42 Future directions seek to achieve a symbiosis of AI and the human brain for cognitive enhancement and rapid transfer of information between individuals or computer systems.…”

Conceptualising technology, its development and future: The six genres of technology

“…Indeed, advanced forms of nanotech and biotech developments pave the way to such speculations being actualized. Beyond enhancing physical capability past levels of natural performance, the possibility of brain-computer connectivity ( Lotte et al., 2007 ; Martins et al., 2019 ) to enhance brain capability arises. Further and controversially, is the establishing, ethics and acceptability of human companionship and intimacy with android partners ( Song, 2018 ).…”