IBM: Mind Reading is Less Than Five Years Away

Cnet: IBM has released its annual “5 in 5” report, the company’s predictions about five ways that technology will dramatically alter our lives in the next five years. In the report, the company predicts the following will happen in the near future:

• Mind reading is no longer science fiction.
• You will be able to power your home with the energy you create yourself.
• You will never need a password again.
• The digital divide will cease to exist.
• Junk mail will become priority mail.

The mind reading may seem particularly outlandish, until you realize they aren’t talking about people reading each other’s minds–they’re talking about computers responding to brain signals. “If you just need to think about calling someone, it happens. Or you can control the cursor on a computer screen just by thinking about where you want to move it,” says the report. “Scientists in the field of bioinformatics have designed headsets with advanced sensors to read electrical brain activity that can recognize facial expressions, excitement and concentration levels, and thoughts of a person without them physically taking any actions.”