All language subtitles for I.Am.Human.2019.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-NTG.EN

- We are
about to enter into

the most consequential
revolution

in the history of
the human race.

Where we can take control
of our cognitive evolution.

- We're talking
about technologies

that could radically alter the
way we are as human beings.

- What
we're seeing is that

technology is
becoming part of us.

Because we're linking
biological brains

directly to machines.

- What if we could
expand your capabilities beyond

what we as humans
have never had before?

- There are a set of
people who are going to say,

this is unnatural,
this is inhuman,

we shouldn't allow
this to happen.

- The fact is, is
that, we are transforming

into a new species,

a technological species.

- You don't know what
the outcome is going to be.

You don't know how
it will be used.

- But if we start
tinkering with the brain,

if we start changing it...

Are we about to
fundamentally change

what it means to be human?

And if so, are we
okay with that?

- Wake up.
- Wake up.

- Drapes.
- Drapes.

- One.
- One.

- Open.
- Open.

- I was riding a
bicycle in a charity event...

it was raining really badly,

and I was following
a mail truck.

And then all of a
sudden it stopped

and I didn't.

Drapes
- Drapes.

- Two.
- Two.

- Open.
- Open.

- Head up.
- Head up.

- Do it.
- Head up.

- Do it.
- Head up.

- Things
are different now.

- Good
morning Mr. Kochevar.

- Hi, Danielle.

- I'm gonna go ahead

and get you up in
the chair, okay?

- I'm a tetraplegic,

which means I can't
move my arms or legs

and I only have feeling
from my mid-chest up.

It's okay that I can't
feel anything but

sometimes I wish I could.

After my injury

I lived with my parents then

when my mother and father both
passed away, I moved here.

- Good
morning Mr. Kochevar.

- Morning Yvonne.

- Well hello.

- How are
you this morning?

- I am
just lovely, Bill.

- In people
that have paralysis,

the nerves to their
muscles are still intact,

but they're cut
off from the brain.

- Let's get
you up on your side.

- So they lose
the ability to voluntarily

control their movements.

- Got
your glasses here.

- If we can
understand the brain's

internal code of movement,

it would significantly
assist us in

better treating a wide
range of medical issues.

But we're not quite there.

- Dr.
Carradine, pick up at 2185.

- People in my situation,

you know, they just
never move again.

It's hard sometimes
to think about that.

I always want to do more.

Like, I wanna move
from this point

to that point without help.

I don't know, probably
eat something by myself.

If it ever happens.

You know, have somebody bring
me a plate of something,

and then I'll say
"Okay, you can go away,

"I'm gonna eat this.

"Come back in about
half an hour."

But I don't think about it a lot

because I know there's
a lot of research

yet to go before that happens.

- Everything
we're trying to do,

everything we're
trying to become,

everything we're trying to fix,

sits on the other
side of the brain.

The brain is the single
highest potential

area of focus we
have in existence.

It is our best tool to
do the things we want

to achieve in life,

it is also the biggest
limiter we have.

- This three pounds,
is our entire universe.

Our senses, our emotions.

- Love,
hate, fear, jealousy,

- The way we move,
the way we control our body.

- Our
culture, our language,

- Our hopes,
our dreams, our aspirations

- Motivation,
pride, wonder.

- The brain
defines what we are.

- But because the
brain runs so efficiently

behind the scenes,

it's typically only when
something goes wrong

that we appreciate the magnitude

of what's actually
happening there.

- I'm not really sure
what's happening in my brain.

Anxiety, insomnia, paralysis.

Parkinson's is
different for everybody.

Just depends on what you get.

- That's a
cardinal, right?

The one with that
whistle, that one.

- Yeah.

- Anne and I have
been married for 38 years.

- Look, the
hydrangeas, it hasn't bloomed.

- I think Anne has one of
the most gentle hearts on earth.

Things have gradually
changed over the years.

She used to be an artist.

She was a hospice volunteer.

All that had to be left behind.

- When I was diagnosed,

I think the biggest
thing for me was that

I would become useless.

You know, I'll be a burden
to my to my children,

and to my husband.

And a burden just in the world.

One of the Parkinson's symptoms

that I was always afraid of

was that you couldn't smile

and you smiled you had
a stony expression.

It's hard to
connect with people.

I'm just way too exhausted and
way too disorganized mentally

to be with people
the way I used to.

This illness, you know,

all you can do is accept it.

- There's
nothing more dehumanizing

than watching someone you love
slowly lose their humanhood

and yet if you look at the
state of neuroscience right now,

we still have an
incredibly long way to go.

- The brain has
always been a black box to us.

In the past, we've
had rudimentary ideas

of how it works.

- We know that there
are circuits that
control your vision,

your memory, your movement.

- But we still
don't know the code.

We don't know the
internal language.

That's because the brain is
the most complicated object

we've ever
encountered in nature.

- You
know, think about it

we have in each human brain,

roughly a hundred
billion neurons.

100 billion was the old estimate

of the number of
galaxies in the universe.

- Each neuron
is as complicated

as the city of Los Angeles.

It's connecting to about
10,000 of its neighbors

so you have, 500
trillion connections.

- And these neurons they
communicate with each other.

And they're firing electrical
signals to each other

the same way our computers
fire zeros and ones

inside of themselves.

- To think about those
individual neurons firing,

at a speed that we can't
even understand yet,

it's mind-boggling.

- It's so
unbelievably complicated
and yet somehow it is us.

- The electrical
firing of these little neurons

is who you are.

What is it saying?

What is it communicating?

- Jim drinks and
hands the flask back to McCoy.

The shuttle rises
among the mass of pipes

and fence in the shipyard

and arcs up into the sky.

- I was
born with a condition

that didn't surface
until later in life.

Everything's white.

It's blank.

It's like having
a book, you know?

You've got a written page

and then you've
got a blank page.

So I'm looking at a blank page.

I live on my own.

I have a cat.

Come on, Angie.

It's a second-hand cat.

Treat time.

Oh, look at that.

Her name originally was Angel.

And I said, "Nah,
she's not an angel,"

so I gave her Angie.

Yeah, she's hiding somewhere.

When I lost my vision,

it's like the whole
world collapsed.

And probably one of the
most difficult thing to do

is to ask for help.

You want a coffee, Denise?

- Yeah,
that'd be great.

- Is Dark Roast fine?

- That's
good, sounds good.

- Good,
cause that's all I got.

- As
long as it's coffee.

- Okay let's see
what else we have here.

- We fight like
brothers and sisters do.

But in the last couple years
we've got very very close.

- Oh, that's
a toaster Denise.

Yeah I got
distracted.

- He's had
relationships, he's
had girlfriends.

But through the
years he just sort of

pushed everybody away.

What time did you
tell me tomorrow?

- 11?

It's really very difficult
to have a conversation.

Because you can't see them,
you can't see their expression.

You can only go by
the tone of voice.

- The last time
Stephen saw me was probably

a year and a half
to two years ago.

That's been a really sad thing.

- Oops, careful.
- I thought you're

gonna grab it.

- Oop, I got it.
- Okay, thanks.

- I'm not as quick
as you are. -
You gotta be quick.

- I know.

- I pretty
well depend on her 100%

for emotional support
and as an intervener.

And also to check my mail.

We love each other very much.

- 4:06 p.m.

- But I just
miss being independent.

- An
estimated one billion
people around the world

that suffer from some
sort of brain disorder.

- Every
66 seconds a new brain

in this country
develops Alzheimer's.

- Without
a breakthrough right now

the dementia rate will
double every 20 years.

- An Estimated
43.8 million American adults

dealt with a mental illness

and an estimated 10
million of them suffer

from a serious mental illness.

- I think
everybody has personal
experience to some degree

with depression or anxiety,
Parkinson's, Alzheimer's.

Whatever the condition is,

it's devastating to that
person, to their loved ones,

and to society.

I experienced a decade
of chronic depression

and I know what it's like to
feel hopelessness at a depth.

Nothing is more important than
addressing a broken brain.

To me, it's the most
important conversation

in the entire world.

- We have a real
treat for you today,

a great entrepreneur...

- Today's guest
is the modern American

rags to riches story,

he started with nothing.

- Today Bryan
Johnson is with us

who's investing in some of
the most important areas

of biology and technology.

- Over the
past couple of years

I built a neuroscience company

where I'm pursuing breakthrough
discoveries in the brain.

- Bryan Johnson
invested $100 million dollars

in his own neuroscience company.

- With the belief
that unlocking our brain

is the most significant
opportunity in history.

- Morning everyone.

A lot of times when I talk
to people about the future

they'll take what exists
today and they...

I basically spend
every waking moment

trying to convince people
that working on the brain

is the single most
consequential thing

we could be doing as a species.

Today I would like to
try and make the case

on why I think the
brain is important.

We now have the tools
to make attempts

at these breakthroughs.

We're one of the first
generations in the world

that cannot see past 15-20 years

and so as a society, how
do we become interested

in this radical
cognitive evolution?

I've spoken at
countless conferences.

I write an email
newsletter, blog posts,

I'm writing a book,

because I am consumed
with this discussion,

our situation, our potential.

Fortunately there are these
fascinating developments

going on in neuroscience

where our technology is
enabling possibilities

we never had before.

Possibilities that
will undoubtedly

transform the human race.

But the first humans
already walking down

this new evolutionary path

are not who most people expect.

- Oh hi, It's
Stan Shabason speaking.

I'm just calling
to confirm Anne's

appointment this
Tuesday at three p.m.

- Someone
who I was seeing

through the movement
disorder clinic

said there's this procedure
called Deep Brain Stimulation

that I should be open to.

- Great, thank you
very much, we'll see you then.

She tried alternative therapies.

Everything from
naturopath, osteopaths,

nothing seemed to help.

- In Parkinson's
disease, the neurons

that produce dopamine
in your brain are dying.

That causes tremor, rigidity,
akinesia or inability to move.

So we implant electrodes
inside the brain

to suppress this
abnormal activity

that is causing the motor
system to shut down.

And we use electrical
stimulation 24 hours a day.

- We were told
this operation would
offer her relief.

But Anne's very wary of any
kind of dramatic procedure.

- Patients
are worried, you know,

"Will I be the same, coming
out, as I was going in?"

- Someone's
cutting into your brain.

You don't know what's
going to happen.

- There's
a tremendous amount
of anxiety about

whether they are going to
change in their outlook,

in their personality, in their
motivation, in their drive.

You know, this is brain surgery.

It's invasive.

It is a scary thought.

- They say my
symptoms might improve.

But cutting your body open and
putting things in your body,

I don't think I'm
capable of risking that.

- The idea of
having electrodes that
are in your brain,

that stimulate your brain,

is something that's
a concern for people.

And it just puts the burden
on being extremely careful

in the design of
these electronics.

Here at the Wyss Center...

...we develop
implantable technology

and test it to show
that it's safe,

to show that it's effective.

It's a very complex process

and it's a very
expensive process.

First, we have to develop
this brain electrode

- This is a technically
very difficult challenge.

We need to avoid dust,
biological contamination,

ionic contamination.

And so this electrode consists
of very special material.

We are touching a very
sensitive part of the human body

so we can not fool around.

- Anything that's
powered gets warm,

so we use thermal
imaging to understand

how hot does it get

and where does it get hot.

The next step is an extremely
complicated surgical procedure

- We need to pass
the barrier of the scalp,

of the skull.

- And implant
the electrode into
or onto the brain.

Once inside, these
electrodes can pick up

the tiny electrical
impulses of the neurons

and convert them into a
signal we can understand

like a digital code.

- It's a messy
messy messy code.

There's a hundred
billion neurons.

But once you're getting
data out of the brain,

you have digital information.

You can do with it
anything you can do

with digital information.

brain computer interface.

- Brain
computer interfaces

give us the ability to
understand the brain,

to understand its
electrical signals

in order to replace
lost function.

- Brain science
for the first time

is showing us how we
can understand ourselves

at the level of the machine.

- The spectrum of
areas where you can help

in brain-computer interfaces
is really tremendous.

- Could we
solve mental illness?

Cure people who are sick?

Could we give
sight to the blind,

restore hearing to the deaf?

Could we restore our
unique human capabilities?

The capabilities that
have been taken away?

- When my doctor
told me about it,

he said, "We have
a research project

and it's a little Star Treky"

And I perked up and said,

"Oh, well this must
be interesting."

It did seem like something
out of science fiction.

So everything's gonna
work today, right?

- That's
up to you, Bill.

I met Bill
about, I would say a year

before we did the brain implant.

- Is that good?

- We said, "You know
there's surgery involved,

and this is experimental.

It's a little bit on the edge

of what our colleagues
are ready to accept."

- They had been
looking for a patient

for quite a while.

- How's that look?

- Good.

- And I
couldn't understand why

somebody along the way
wouldn't want to do this.

- Everything's
looking good.

- We have two
microelectrode arrays implanted

into Bill's primary
motor cortex.

Four by four millimeters in size

and ninety-six
recording electrodes.

Each electrode penetrates
the cortical tissue,

1.5 millimeters in depth

and can record the activity
of individual neurons.

So Bill one of the
things we need to do

is we need to
calibrate the decoder,

so watch and then also imagine

you're performing
those same movements.

- We have them watch
an animation of an arm,

imagine themselves as
controlling those movements,

and we'll build this algorithm

decoding the movement intention.

Excellent.

- We then
send that intention

to electrodes implanted
in Bill's arm and hand.

And our goal is to
restore movement.

- Okay Bill,
I'm gonna go ahead

and connect you to
that, all right?

- Yes.

- Okay, it's on.

- If the electrical
activity in Bill's brain

can stimulate in
the right pattern,

you can get an arm to move, a
hand to open, a hand to close.

- Connect
that to the card.

- Imagine reaching
out, imagine reaching up.

- All right, here we go.

- But it may not work.

The signals change in my brain,

so that's a task they
struggle with a lot.

- We believe the
potential is massive.

But there are some
technical challenges

we are working
towards overcoming.

- It's
extraordinarily difficult

to make breakthroughs
in neuroscience.

Scientists are tackling these
really complicated problems,

trying to do things
that other people

consider to be impossible.

And it makes it both an
extremely exciting time

but also, it's daunting

because we don't know
the best approach

to make progress.

There's many
reasons why neuroscience

is an extremely difficult
field to build in.

You not only have the
technological challenge

of getting good neural signal,

but then you have the
scientific challenge

of figuring out how
to decode that signal.

Optics, we're
looking at geometries

in our design of the hardware.

Then you have intense capital
requirements often times

in the hundreds of
millions of dollars.

Brandon, how are
we doing on budget?

We need to get this
done in that timeframe.

I know it's gonna be a lot.

And finally, you
have important safety

and ethical considerations.

It's challenging,
to say the least.

But I think it
is absolutely essential

that we make breakthroughs
in the brain.

If we can do that,

we can overcome our
biological limitations.

We can reject the things that
stop us from moving forward.

- Dr.
Ford, please dial 114.

- This procedure
was purely by accident.

- Stephen had
been to his eye specialist.

He said, "I know a doctor who
is doing some amazing things."

- It's called
the Argus procedure.

They've done between eight
and ten patients already.

They implant a chip
underneath the eye,

and electrodes are
hooked up to the brain.

- Hi, Stephen,
it's Dr. Devenyi, how are you?

This procedure, it's for
sure the most complicated

operation we do.

This won't be bad.
- Sure.

I cleared my schedule today

just for this occasion.
- Good.

And it's a significant
intrusion into the eye.

Basically there's a band
that goes around the eye.

Far back, we don't see it.

And that has the receiving
and transmitting electrodes.

And then there's a
portion from that...

- It's
a new technology,

so I'm not like
I got a brochure.

It's not a hundred percent, so

something could go wrong.

I'll see you soon.

- We'll get this done.
- Thank you very much.

- Okay, take care.

- But you reach a
point when you're 55 years old,

you're blind.

Where do you go from there?

So I said, yeah sure, why not?

I got lots of time.

- If you
could do this list,

we have to remember to
tell the doctor tomorrow.

- Okay.

So half hour before your meds.

- Everything slows down.

That writhing of my leg...

- It's been
several months.

And this decision
for the surgery,

it's been very difficult
for her of course

and challenging for me.

But my kids and I

are encouraging her more
and more to consider it.

Both legs are cramping
or just your right leg?

- No just my right leg.

- Right foot
and leg cramping.

Right foot over your left knee.

Let's switch.

Her symptoms are
growing worse and worse.

Come over to the left.

Pull your right leg in,

- My husband's
been incredible.

But the thing that I'm
concerned about is that

not only do I have the illness,

he has the illness.

My family has the illness.

- Last time that we
were sleeping in the same bed

it's been at least a few years,
I can't remember anymore.

- I don't want
to be a masochist

because of my insistence on
one way being the right way.

But when it affects
so many people,

I think you also have a duty

to try what's reasonable.

So...

I've decided to do it.

- I don't
expect a miracle.

I don't expect to
be boarding a plane

and going to Turkey.

But I would like to move
about on my own freely,

within reason.

- Drapes.
- Drapes.

- Open.
- Open.

- After my accident,

- Head up.

- They gave me
the diagnosis and told me

"You'll probably
be a tetraplegic

for the rest of your life."

- Head up.

- But who knows what
breakthroughs will happen?

- Before, there didn't
seem to be any other solution

to break out of this except
to make peace with it.

But I'm not so interested in
making peace with it anymore.

- I would like to
be able to live independently

and travel independently.

- I would love to
be doing artwork again.

You know, just being able to
express myself artistically.

- Maybe I'll be able

to move around in my chair,

pick something
up, eat something.

Yeah I'm hoping for that day.

- I don't
need a perfect life.

I don't need the
best of anything.

I just want to feel human again.

- The first
thing we do is bolt a frame

onto their skull.

What are the
measurements please?

And they have to be awake.

Anne, how are you doing?

We then drill two
holes in their head.

Okay, let's go.

We then place electrodes
within trouble-making areas

in the brain.

This is a game where you have
to be within one millimeter.

What are the
measurements please?

That one millimeter
means a difference

between success and failure.

We're gonna go down to zero.

We put it about there.

Alright, so we're in.

So we should start
recording neurons.

Anne?

We're starting to hear
some of the neurons

in your brain now.

Once we're inside,

we get the patient to move
their arm or their leg,

and we see whether those
neurons are activated.

So this neurons is involved
with moving the shoulder.

- Cleaned?

- Yes.

Forceps?

- Steven's procedure is
truly the most remarkable

development that I've
witnessed in my career

and truly something I
didn't think any of us

would see in our lifetimes.

Ready
for the implants.

- It essentially
is a coalescence

of machine and man

in a way that is really
quite hard to fathom.

- We're good.

Calipers please?

- Anne?

We're now gonna start
to put some electricity

through your electrode.

- What we're
seeing is that technology's

becoming part of us.

- When
I see three tell me

if you feel anything, ready?

- Because we
are linking biological brains

directly to machines.

- Look
at her face carefully,

there was a
contraction in her lip.

1, 2, 3.

So four is definitely
moving her face.

- If you
look at machines,

they're capable, right?

- Still there.

- They're
bigger, they're faster,
they're stronger,

all that stuff.

- Go ahead
with the vitrectomy now.

- The human's
a fragile beast,

but it's creative and it's
smart and it can push beyond.

Electrodes
are functioning?

Yes.

- Bring 'em
together in symbiosis,

Focus on.

That's good.

- Where you
can keep the pieces

that make us human,

but use the advantages
of the machine

in ways we haven't
been able to do before.

Marking pen please.

- By this combination
of electronics

and the human body,

Is the infusion on?

- I would hazard to say
it's one of the most amazing

achievements in all of medicine.

Forceps.

- To be able to
give back abilities

to people that otherwise
had no options whatsoever,

Load the tac.

Secure.

- It's really quite remarkable.

Anne?

You're going to go to sleep.

And after that we're going to
put the battery in your chest.

Okay.

We are just seeing the very
beginnings of this technology.

So we're gonna leave
an electrode here.

Where there will be a
blurring of the boundary

between machine and biology

and the two will,
one day, merge.

We're done.

- The fact is is
that we are transforming

into a new species, a
technological species.

- It's really
crossing the skin into

the holy grail, the brain,
and all these things

that people associate
with being who we are

that people are somewhat
uncomfortable with.

- If we can change
what our brains can do,

what does that mean?

- As we're trying
to intervene in the brain,

we need to be very conscious
of the ripple effects.

- We don't know what
the outcome is going to be.

- For some people,
it's a sci-fi step too far.

- There's a few hundred
thousand people in the world

who currently have implanted
technology in their brain,

and not many people know that.

And knowing that of course

I think changes
people's perspectives

that this has happened....

Okay we're gonna put
your forearm in a splint.

- It's happening.

All right, here we go.

- And it's
now moving at a speed

that is much faster than before.

- That's good.

Try it again.

- But the reality is

implantable technology
is intimidating.

It's expensive, invasive,

and only recommended for people

with severe disease
and dysfunction.

But what if that
wasn't the case?

What if we had brain technology
that was broadly accessible?

And what if...

it didn't require surgery?

Fortunately we are
reaching a point

where these possibilities
are emerging.

Imagine you had
a brain interface

you could just put on your head,

no surgeries required
and you could see

all of your brain activity.

Not just what you're aware of,

but all of your brain activity.

All of your thoughts, concerns,

it was just out in front of you.

So for example if you
struggle with anxiety,

you'd see in your brain activity

that you've had this
thought 94 times today

and it's probably not necessary.

Could this help you

so you don't have
that thought 94 times?

Or can you see in
this thought process

that you were limiting your
ability to do something

because you didn't
believe you could do it?

But that's a limiting belief.

You really can do it.

And if we have the technology
that gives us the ability

to improve how our
brains function,

can we rethink the things
that have always held us back?

As someone who's
building these tools

to interface with the brain,

my hope is that
we get to a point

in technological advancements

where we are not limited
by our technology,

we're empowered by it, so
it is a matter of choice

of what we want to become.

- We're at the
moment where there are a lot

of very rapidly
emerging technologies.

Brain computer interfaces
are starting to become part

of mainstream society.

There already is technology
that can pick up simple,

electrical activity
from your brain

through these things,
like consumer EEG devices.

- The Emotiv
Insight is a portable,

wearable device
that allows you to

capture what's going on in
your brain in real time.

- If I wear one of these
devices I can start to decode

whether or not I'm
drowsy or awake,

whether or not paying
attention or I'm unfocused,

angry or experiencing some
other kind of emotional state.

- So this
is my brain right now?

- This is
your brain right now.

- Oh my gosh.
- In real time.

- This is wild.

- There are also a
number of people using headsets

to focus and perform better.

- You can buy
a TDCS device online

or you can go to youtube
and build one yourself.

- I have been
experimenting in an effort

to hopefully see some really
awesome cognitive enhancement.

- The future
of brain interfaces is probably

the most fascinating unknown

because we are at
the infancy of this.

- As we crack
the code of the brain,

we're handing the
reins of our own lives,

of our own minds to us.

We get to choose how
we think, who we are.

- As we get better
and better as a society

at building brain interfaces,

these can be applied
to every aspect

of our biological existence.

- Could we
teach you a new skill?

Could we help you
communicate the emotion

you're feeling to a loved one?

What can and can't we do?

- Alright then Preston.

The experiment
will begin shortly.

Once you are asked a question,
look on the left hand side

if the answer to
that question is yes.

Look on the right hand
side if the answer

to that question is no.

Does that make sense to you?

- Yes.

- Wonderful.

Are you comfortable?

- Mm.

- Subject number
one is wearing an EEG cap

to record electrical
fluctuations

from their brain.

Subject number two is
receiving the information

through a magnetic pulse
to the back of the brain.

- In the
current experiment,

we have two subjects
in two different rooms,

playing a game of 20 questions.

The big difference is
that the two people asking

and answering questions are
doing so using only signals

from their brains.

- TMS is armed.

- The
category is animals.

There are eight
possible answers.

- Data is looking good.

Let's go ahead.

- You can send
the first question.

- The answer is yes.

- Excellent.

- It doesn't matter
if they're in the same room

or on the other
side of the world.

We can extract the
information from one brain,

transmit it to a
device that can encode

information into another brain.

- No.

- Ultimately,
the goal of this technology

is to improve the
human experience.

To offer up the
possibility of sharing

the contents of my
mind, my emotional state

into somebody else,
without words.

- When we can
understand someone

without the barrier of
different languages,

we could start to blur
the boundaries between us.

We could start to
see the whole world

as members of our tribe

and have more empathy
and compassion for them.

- It's always really
hard in advance to know

when you're at a turning
point in society,

when technology is gonna
be so transformative

that everything will change.

And the question is,
are we there right now?

Are we about to
fundamentally change

what it means to be human?

And if so,

are we okay with that?

- Safety test.

- Stephen's
implant is a brilliant device

that essentially
has two components.

A band that's sewn
around the eye

with 60 electrodes on it
that stimulate the retina.

- Glasses on.

- And
a pair of glasses

with a video camera on it

that sends images wirelessly

to the electrodes on the
surface of the eyeball.

- Beginning.

- Those
images then travel along

the natural pathway of the
optic nerve to the brain.

- Electrodes activated.

- You have
good connection.

We're gonna activate
your device.

Light off.

Big light on please.

Respond yes or no as to whether

you're able to perceive
something or not

using the game controller.

- Okay.

- So we wanna
see how much stimulation

each of your electrodes needs.

- Right.

- Sending stimulation.

- I see
something flashing.

- Got it, okay.

- Another flash.

- Okay.

Does it seem any brighter?

- Too bright.

- Reset.

- Okay then
I'm just gonna tweak

some settings a little bit.

Go ahead and respond
to this last electrode.

- Oh.

Very faintly, I can see
a bit of the hand, yeah.

- That's good.

Go ahead and scan and see

what you are able to perceive.

- You know, to the
left, to the right.

There's nothing there.

Yeah I'm not
picking up anything.

- Doing some
adjustments right now.

- Setting stimulation.

- Oh!

I see something there.

- Okay.

- I see, I mean, I've got
the silhouette right there.

- Okay.

- Trigger.

- Continue responding.

- I see you.

Am I right?

- It's been a long
time, Stephen.

- Denise?

- Yes.

You're looking right at me.

- Sorry.

- That's huge, Stephen.

- It's a nice feeling.

- That's great.

- Read that.

- Okay.

I see something there.

- I think he'll
get out more, he'll do more,

he'll meet people.

- Okay I see her
right in front of me.

- It'll open
up a whole new world.

- It's her.

- Exactly.

- My, Denise,
how you've grown.

- The hope is our
patients see edges of objects,

empty seats on subways,
the outlines of people.

Even fireworks.

But as the technology's
been improving,

they see more and more.

There's no limit to
how much you could

crank up the magnification

and what sort of details
we could potentially see.

- Right now, the
prosthetic eyes that we have

are not anywhere near
as good as human eyes,

but eventually
they'll be better.

And why couldn't we add
infrared vision to them,

or UV vision to them?

- So one of the
latest experiments

that we've been working on is

using an infrared camera
instead of the regular camera

so patients could
actually see in the dark.

- Our technology right
now is about helping people

with diseases or
deficits of some sort

but it's this exact
same technology

that will allow us
to expand ourselves.

Expand our reality,
expand our senses,

expand what we can
do with our bodies.

- The left side.

About 130 hertz,
60 microseconds.

Let me check your baseline.

So this is...

Relax.

- It was an
extreme procedure.

I mean they sliced my head open,

they stuck tubes in.

It's not for the faint of heart.

- Deep
Brain Stimulation

is a two part
surgical procedure.

The electrodes are
implanted in the brain

and then connected to a
pacemaker in their chest.

3.5 volts.

- With a remote
control, we are able to adjust

how much current is
delivered to the brain.

Almost no rigidity.

Very much like you
would control the volume

or change the channels
on your television set.

I will build up the
voltage by .5 volts every step.

In between steps I will
check your rigidity.

And the symptoms.

Did you feel anything?

- Not yet, no.

- So I'll
go a little higher.

1.5 here and here 1.5.

3.5 volts, 80%.

- Well this, whoa,

my toes are really
pulling on my left foot.

They're going way up like that.

- It's a good sign.

- I feel my left side.
- Left side?

- Yeah, tingling on
the bottom of my feet.

- By using
electrical stimulation,

not only can we
suppress the symptoms

but we're able to
discover new areas

and new functions of the brain

where no man has
ever gone before.

- Ugh, my tongue is
getting bigger and bigger.

Feels like, uh, down my throat.

- Tell me
when it gets better.

- We're also
realizing that this technique

could be used to
treat other disorders

like Alzheimer's
Disease, like depression,

maybe even obesity.

- Oh my goodness, I
can't describe it.

- Is it better now?

Improving?

- It's improving.
- Yeah.

Okay, all right.

Let's just walk
to that corner back and forth.

Very good.

Let's see, so we'll
pick contact three.

- I am
convinced that in the future,

I don't know if it'll be
10, 20, 30 years from now,

if you said I really
would like to be smarter,

to be happier, I'd like to
have more drive, more ambition.

There's no reason why,
at least in theory,

you couldn't go to these
areas and adjust the activity.

- For emergencies,
you need to turn it off,

this shuts it off.

- Okay.

- Imagine you
have a set of dials

and you can say, "Oh, I
want to be more extroverted,

more empathetic and
harder working."

Imagine you could
just do that on-demand

by pushing a button.

- Just like that.

- It's very
interesting to contemplate

where will technology take us.

And as humans will
it be able to make us

better than we currently are?

Welcome, class.

Today's lecture is
about neuroethics.

We are on the cusp of
being able to truly unlock

the secrets of the human brain.

But more than that,

more than being
able to understand

what's happening in the brain,

now we're able to make a lot
of very precise changes to it.

How many of you feel
like your sense of self

is in your brain?

Many of you, right?

Many of you identify
your brain as the place

that you recognize your
sense of self identity.

The place that you sort of
think of you as being located.

And if you change that,

if you start to
add machines to it,

if you start to implant
electrodes to it

at what point does that
start to become problematic?

There is great benefit
to these technologies,

but there are risks.

For example who has
access to those devices?

Who gets to drive and
change those devices?

Whether it's hackers,
corporations,

governments, other people,

what protections if any
exist within society today?

It's arriving.

And unless we start
deciding today

what kinds of protections
you want for your brain,

it may be too late.

Does that make
you uncomfortable?

Because that's
where we're going.

- The work
that we're doing in

direct brain interfaces

that are gonna
eventually one day

let you communicate
using only your mind.

- In just the last
few years, there's been

this sudden rush to
fund more aggressive,

more radical work in
interfacing to the brain.

- Elon Musk
is creating a big stir

on social media this morning.

- Elon Musk
has launched Neuralink.

- They will aim to connect the
human brain with computers.

- That will
enable anyone who wants

to have super human cognition.

- But
billions of people

with enhanced cognitive ability?

Radically enhanced?
- Yes, yes.

- Pass that whiskey.

This is getting ridiculous.

- What's happening in
the brain is unprecedented.

It's moving faster
now than ever before.

- Together we
have a goal of typing,

five times faster

than you can type on your phone,

straight from your brain.

And we're just getting started.

- If you
understand the brain,

you get a tremendous amount
of power to leverage.

Some programmers
call it brain hacking

and the tech world
would probably prefer

you didn't hear about it.

- We can't
underestimate the incredible

unchecked power that
Google, Apple, Facebook have

over what two billion people
are thinking every day.

That's more than the number
of followers of Christianity.

These are like
private superpowers

whose goals are not
the same as our goals.

- Last
week Facebook revealed

that they are working

on technology to
read people's minds.

Ah, yeah, we're in
ing hell you guys,

I don't know what to say.

- People are far more
likely to give up information

about their brain to
what they think are,

these faceless corporations

but they're really people
who are driving that.

- One of the best
algorithms that we have

for mapping the brain
comes from Google.

- Google
is able to collect

an amount of information
about its users

that would even
make the NSA blush.

- Do I
want my brain data

ultimately owned by Google?

I'm not sure I'm comfortable
with that just yet.

The Google policy

about a lot of these things

is to get right up to the
creepy line but not cross it.

Implanting things in your brain

is beyond the creepy line

at least for the moment.

- Whether
we're just using phones

or we have brain implants,

history is littered
with good intentions.

Who's to say where we should go?

Who's to say what's
best for people?

- Is it going to
be chancing corporations,

is it going to be
panicking governments,

an ill informed public,
over this thing?

Somebody's got to keep
close watch on this.

Who's going to do that?

- The risk is we don't
know what the future holds.

Should we even attempt
to introduce technology

like this on a mass large scale?

- That's right.

These are tricky questions

that have all kind
of implications.

The technology is transitioning
from the medical domain

into the mainstream.

And as it does, the
opportunities and challenges

that this creates for
us, we can't even begin

to get our heads around.

I'm very concerned
about who makes

breakthroughs in neuroscience.

In the behaviors of
people who've built

the technology companies
over the past decade,

their decision making
processes matter a lot

and they influence
society dramatically.

- I think everybody
that started social media

had the best intention

and I don't think
anybody foresaw

the levels of depression
and anxiety and addiction

that it's caused.

- Most of us
use social networks.

Our opinions are
being manipulated in

ways that we don't
even understand.

- How do we try
to mitigate for all

of the potential things that
could go wrong on a mass scale

that we can't even predict?

- As a society it's
important we be ready for this.

So I'm trying to figure out
how to talk about these topics

in a way that doesn't
threaten people,

that enables them to
explore them with me.

We are about to enter into
the most consequential

revolution in the history
of the human race.

Where we can take control
of our cognitive evolution.

It's a very big challenge

because people are considering
what they're going to lose.

Who's going to do bad things?

But I think one of
the greatest limiters

to progress is fear.

Imagine if I had a tool to
interface with my brain,

where I could walk a mile
in someone else's shoes.

What if I could feel what
it was like to be you?

What if I could understand
your contextual framework?

What if I understood your
memories and your emotions?

Would that change the way
we deal with each other?

The way we cooperate, the
way we make decisions?

Would that change
our creative ability?

It's gonna be on our front
doorsteps in 15-20 years

on a scale we've
never seen before.

So how might we be thoughtful

in building these technologies?

The impact is going
to be substantial.

And to acknowledge
that that is the case,

and reconcile what that means

will allow us to have
productive conversations

of how we might explore this,
develop this, deal with this.

Thank you.

The reality is it's up to us.

The key to our
continued thriving,

the key to everything we want

is to open up

and consider this new
set of possibilities

that we've never
considered before.

- Before the operation,

I went in hoping
everything would be fine.

That I would be a new person.

But I was forced to
accept the unknown

and open myself up to something

a little bit different.

I can't really explain it.

But when I try to see
what it would be like

if I didn't have the device on.

I wait a few seconds
and all the symptoms

of Parkinson's are back.

My toes are all curling under
and I'm starting to sway.

I get stiff.

And I can't walk.

My tongue gets even thicker.

And it feels like I
can't speak at all.

And then when the device
is turned on again,

my movements become more fluid.

It's as if this machine
is motivating me

to get it right.

It's been almost a
year since the surgery.

I used to come
down here and stare

at my boxes of paper and wonder

how in the world I was
gonna make something.

But now it's as if my
motivation and creative ability

has just clicked in.

There's a connection that my
brain is making to my hands

that it never made before,

and anything I want
to do, I can do.

Hi, Tootsie!

We had our first grandchild
about three months ago.

- Let's go Mr. Jellybean.

- The
neurostimulator's stopping you

from shaking your legs so
now you can't jostle him.

- Her anxiety, which
was horrible, has disappeared.

Now we can go to the
city, take in a concert,

take in a play.

- It all comes together
the same way it used to.

- Anne and I started
taking dance lessons together.

- Oh, you did?

- Yep.

- The
procedure didn't stop

the disease from progressing.

But we bought a lot of time.

- I get teary because

you can see just

that the things you
did were worth doing.

It's an amazing feeling

that I can trust,

I don't know how
to even say this.

but I can trust my brain
to work better now.

- When
I lost my vision,

the hardest part was
trying to figure out

how to ask for help.

Fortunately, I had my sister.

- Right by
Roy Thomson Hall again.

- Okay.

- We're
walking into the sunset.

- Why
don't we go in there

and get tickets to do something?

At least it'll be warm.

- I'm hoping that
over time I'll see

outline of objects.

Tables and doors.

And when I'm
crossing the street,

I can distinguish,

oh ok this is a car and
it's coming right for me,

get out of the way.

I had to learn to
retrain my mind

and have a new
perspective of my future.

- I think his
independence will come back.

He's definitely got the
motivation and the drive.

I'm very excited for him.

- Before my accident,

I didn't really think
about medical research.

- You the star.

- I was
just a pee-on too.

You was a pee-on?

Yeah, I was nobody.

You were nobody.

But now I'm somebody.

But
now you're somebody.

But somebody
has to do research

or no breakthroughs
are gonna happen.

And even if I don't get
any benefit out of this,

eventually somebody's gonna
benefit from what I'm doing

and that makes me feel special.

- Right, Bill, you ready?

This time it'll be you
with no assistance.

So it'll just be all you here.

- I'm ready.

- All right, here we go.

- Open.

Open.

Open.

- Try it again.

See if you can open your hand.

- Bill, focus.

- Out.

- Just checking triceps.

- Up.

Close.

- Close your hand.

Reach in.

- Down.

Out.

- Biceps.

Just checking.

- In.

- It's amazing.

- Out.

- Ready for
some mashed potatoes?

- Yes I am.

Like most people, you know,

I thought quadriplegics
all were, you know

stuck in bed, they didn't do
anything, didn't move around.

- Bring your arm down.

- He seems to have a
very strong elbow movements.

- But now....

- Raise up again.

- I'm learning

that's not really true.

Mashed Potatoes.

I love it.

To be able to eat
something with a fork.

It's wonderful.

- Good, good good.

This is groundbreaking work.

Bill Kochevar, is the first
person to our knowledge

to use an implanted
brain computer interface

to control both
reaching and grasping

just by thinking.

- Mashed potatoes
now, steak next?

- He is a pioneer.

- You ready?

- Yes I am!

- Bill is always asking
us what is the next step.

My hope is that it will
eventually become available

outside of a laboratory setting,

invisible to the outside user,

and give persons with
spinal cord injury

the ability to perform
tasks on their own,

to increase their independence,

to increase their
quality of life.

I believe that we can harness
the power of the brain

and harness the
power of computers

to overcome some of the most
critical limitations we face.

- We are
walking down this path

of merging with our technology.

The insights we
make with the brain

will invite all of us to
ask questions of ourselves

that challenge our
deepest held beliefs

on identity and purpose.

So what does it
mean to be human?

To me, it means we can
become anything we want.

- Sleep.

- Sleep.