With Brain Computer Interfaces, Science is Working on a Mind Meld with Machines

Brain computer interfaces can already restore vision and turn thoughts into clicks. Are robotic tails, shared memories, and permanent mind-machine melds next? | Subscribe to Futurology! https://linkin.bio/futurology/ Big Tech already lives rent-free in our heads. The attention economy monetized and industrialized our mental real estate long ago. Now, with brain-computer interfaces, companies with ambitious names like Science are preparing to barge through the doors of perception and take up permanent residence inside our minds. In this episode, Hodak – a co-founder of Neuralink and now the founder and CEO of Science – is more familiar with how to create this mind meld with machines than nearly anyone on Earth. Hodak is part of a growing cadre of true believer tech accelerationists who argue that humanity’s best chance to endure is to evolve alongside computers, wired together tightly enough that the boundary between tool and self starts to blur. Subscribe to the Berggruen Institute on YouTube to be the first to listen to new Futurology episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@Berggrueninst Catch up on the Futurology conversation with full episodes on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyYCSKWs8iYgjg-mhu-EuhTrG0-adrb0c Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/futurology/id1821718921 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/2I38HvHP6KlXrD5ysfygxk?si=XB2qyyGjT2ONMTd5XUKJAg&nd=1&dlsi=ac8cda6751834298 Mentioned in this Episode: Pantheon — Craig Silverstein; based on short stories by Ken Liu (Animated Television Series, 2022) https://www.netflix.com/title/81937398?source=35&fromWatch=true The Hidden Girl and Other Stories — Ken Liu (Book, 2021) https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Hidden-Girl-and-Other-Stories/Ken-Liu/9781982134044?utm_source=chatgpt.com The Problems of Plenty: America, Abundance, and the Crisis of Global Power — Francis J. Gavin (Book, 2024) https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-problems-of-plenty-9780197766831 Chapters (0:00) Introduction (3:53) Max’s Childhood: “Raising an Alien” (6:47) Early Science Fiction Inspirations (7:38) The Mission Behind Science Corporation (8:44) The Problems of a Post-Scarcity, Super Abundant World (12:01) The Hidden Complexity of Modern Supply Chains (16:05) How Science Corporation is Limited by Physical Infrastructure (17:59) What is a Brain-Computer Interface? (20:22) Restoring Vision through Retinal Implants (21:29) Biohybrid Brain Computer Interfaces (25:17) From Repairing Bodies to Controlling a Prosthetic Tail (27:02) How BCIs Actually, Technically Work (29:49) The 2035 Event Horizon: Will Kids Ever Be “BCI Natives?” (37:15) What Limits BCIs: Engineering, Not Neuroscience (41:49) How Sci-Fi Like The Matrix and Pantheon Shapes Max’s Vision (50:41) Can We Modify Identity?: Consciousness and Psychedelics (58:09) The Binding Problem, Consciousness’s Central Mystery (1:03:37) The Future of BCIs: Real vs. Imagined Risks Where to find Max Hodak: Website: maxhodak.com Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/maxhodak.bsky.social X: https://x.com/maxhodak Show ideas and feedback? Email: futurology@berggruen.org Learn more about the Berggruen Institute https://www.berggruen.org Follow Futurology! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/futurologypod Twitter/X: https://www.x.com/futurologypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@futurologypod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/berggrueninst LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/berggrueninst Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/futurologypod.bsky.social Credits Executive Producers: Nicolas Berggruen, Nathan Gardels, Nils Gilman, Dawn Nakagawa, & Jason Hoch Producers: Grant Slater, Alex Gardels, & Nathalia Ramos Associate Producer: Elissa Mardiney Theme Music: Marcus Bagala Audio Engineer: Aaron Bastinelli & Kyle Scott Wilson Futurology is a production of Studio B and Wavland for the Berggruen Institute in Los Angeles, California.