The goal of thought decoder, called a semantic decoder, that US scientists have designed is far from science fiction. Its operation is as follows: first the machine is trained, 16 hours studying a specific person. This is how he learns what he wants to say at all times and later, the device is capable of verbalizing what the person thinks.

What is sought with this artificial intelligence device is return the ability to communicate to patients who have lost it. Arnau Espinosa, neuroscientist and project manager of the Wyss Center, explains to laSexta that this technology is to be used to restore functions that have been lost and increase the quality of life of patients that today are not capable of producing language.

For now there is no need to be scared, no one can read their minds yet. But the fact that there is a remote possibility makes us talk about it and the positions are extreme: there are those who would not want to have this ‘superpower’ or who think it would be unethical; and there are those who would not have any problem when using a tool of this type to read minds.

What almost all the ordinary people consulted by laSexta are clear is that we don’t want them to spy on our thoughts. We can rest easy because, for the moment, this machine only reads what we leave it.