| From: | Jeffrey Riordan <JRIORDAN@***.gov> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Real life imitates Shadowrun |
| Date: | Mon, 22 Jul 1996 11:07:01 -0400 |
http://www.cnet.com/Content/News/Files/0,16,1870,00.html
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
A new memory chip--for the brain
By Margie Wylie
July 18, 1996, 4:45 p.m. PST
In what may be the most premature
pre-announcement in the history of computerhardware,
scientists from British Telecom's Laboratory today
announced a memorychip for the human brain. No
kidding. At a presentation for Yorkshire Post
newspaper, BT scientists said the chip wouldattach
directly to the optical nerve and store incoming
sensory impulses that could then be downloaded and
played on a computer or implanted in someone else's
memory. As far-fetched as it may seem, BT scientists
are taking it seriously: They even assigned it the
appropriately gee-whiz product moniker of "Soul
Catcher 2025," as well as some fairly detailed
specifications. The 2025 refers to the year the
scientists think the idea will become a reality.
A lifetime's experience could be stored in about
10 terabytes, according to Peter Cochrane, head of
advanced applications and technologies for BT. "I
tend to think of computers now as my third lobe," said
Cochrane, who asserts that integrating actual circuitry
into the human body is the next logical step.
Cochrane insists that BT is taking the project
seriously, perhaps leading some to question what
company executives already have in their heads. The
phone company has invested 267 million pounds
(about $400 million) in its Lab, a playground for
futurists and their inventions. "BT the telephone
company is no different from any other telephone
company in the world, but they do have this advanced
applications laboratory where they think up great
thoughts," said Ben Rooney, editor for the Daily
Telegraph's weekly Connected section.
Some analysts don't think it's a joke either, explaining
that the Soul Catcher project is just one possible
application of BT Lab's research. The larger reason
for delving into artificial life research is the hope that
BT can create telecommunications networks
modeled on the most complex network of all: the
human brain. The research will help scientists apply
the complex organic routing mechanisms found in the
human brain to networking and Internet problems, said
Stephan Somogyi, senior editor of industry newsletter
Digital Media. "Some of the most
complicated technological problems out there today
involve routing and switching algorithms."
"This project is a very small part of our total
effort," agreed Cochrane. In the intervening 30 years
between now and the potential delivery of the Soul
Catcher, he predicts that BT's direct brain links
research will develop much simpler and
potentially lifesaving devices. "Right now you have a
Xerox machine that rings up for help. All the Coke
dispensers and candy bar machines in England are
wired...so that they let you know when to top them
off," Cochrane said. The research that is contributing
to the Soul Catcher could also spawn pacemaker chips
that alert wearers or nearby hospitals of an imminent
heart failure or constantly monitor the blood sugar
levels of diabetics and release insulin into the
bloodstream as necessary, he said.
Copyright ? 1996 CNET Inc. All rights reserved
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
