Thread: Dreams could be soon watched on computer screens

My dream videos would be naughty!

Originally Posted by imj

Probably something like the electric car....read about it but don't see it in use.

IMJ

I'll have to agree with IMJ on this one, it'll probably get widely acknowledged if the dream recording/watching technology gets off the ground but it'll probably be too expensive/ have too smaller market for it to really reach it's potential anytime soon...

From what I read it can only project simple images(probably like little white dots here and there), let alone these are probably still images not in realtime.

It is really cool indeed, but I think its still extremely far off from actually being useful for the everyday person.

I watched a ripleys show about a year ago about a blind lady having surgery to help her see the world via a small camera on a pair of glasses. She could only see white dots ontop of objects that stood out but it was really cool.

I could be wrong but I'm willing to bet that this works some what the same way but with dreams.

I'd sure like to see and use this before my life is over, but I have doubt that it'll either take longer then that to perfect it for the public or it wont hit the market at all.

I dislike this idea. I've been dreaming (haha) about such technology since I was little and wanted to 'videotape my dreams'.

But, like a lot of other science, this won't be limited to personal enjoyment and use by lucid dreamers. Apparently it won't be limited to dreams. If this literally is 'mind-reading' technology, I already foresee a lot of unsanctioned mind-reading occurring... unsanctioned in this case meaning unsanctioned by the thinker, and either being done illegally (brain haxor, man that would suck) or by governments (man that would suck). Yikes.

Overall I don't like this. Our brains and thoughts are our only truly, mostly private possessions. This is like the verita serum of our world (), if it's legit and going to be developed further into a tool. Too many risks to offset the benefits.

If all that was recorded from my dreams was vision, and the other senses were eliminated, that wouldn't be so bad. Vision isn't the only component to a dream, and without the others a lot of meaning is lost.

And if they get around that, and the quality is good enough... uh oh! There goes the porn industry! (and most of the rest of the film industry)

Yes, yes, I am thinking very very long term and with the max presence of corruption. Luckily, I would probably die before any of this occurs, if it does Unfortunately, I will probably die before I can videotape my dreams.

That would be so cool to have!

Originally Posted by seeker28

My dream videos would be naughty!

Haha so would some of mine, I'd have to wait another year to turn 18 before I could watch some of mine again. Imagine the number of fake celebrity porno's out there too!

Originally Posted by Dalek

Imagine the number of fake celebrity porno's out there too!

Oh man... you know how some people think DCs are real, sentient beings? Makes me wonder if something like the aclu would get on that I'd laugh.

Originally Posted by Barbizzle

If this ever comes true, Lucid Dreamer will be the movers and the money makers of Hollywood. Everyone would rather hire a Lucid Dreamer then a Special effect artist

If you got this machinery you could have your own movies and maybe sell them, but could they be deleted?

Originally Posted by hypnotoad1579

Whoopee, another step towards loosing mental privacy! Damn I hate science sometimes.

Exactly! While this is exciting, this worries me! Eventually, in say, 200 years, will our innermost thoughts be spied upon by foreign radar?

Originally Posted by DreamQueen

Wow! Could be great for working out whether someone is innocent or guilty of a crime.

Yikes! That scares me silly.

Originally Posted by Shift

I dislike this idea. I've been dreaming (haha) about such technology since I was little and wanted to 'videotape my dreams'.

But, like a lot of other science, this won't be limited to personal enjoyment and use by lucid dreamers. Apparently it won't be limited to dreams. If this literally is 'mind-reading' technology, I already foresee a lot of unsanctioned mind-reading occurring... unsanctioned in this case meaning unsanctioned by the thinker, and either being done illegally (brain haxor, man that would suck) or by governments (man that would suck). Yikes.

Overall I don't like this. Our brains and thoughts are our only truly, mostly private possessions. This is like the verita serum of our world (), if it's legit and going to be developed further into a tool. Too many risks to offset the benefits.

If all that was recorded from my dreams was vision, and the other senses were eliminated, that wouldn't be so bad. Vision isn't the only component to a dream, and without the others a lot of meaning is lost.

And if they get around that, and the quality is good enough... uh oh! There goes the porn industry! (and most of the rest of the film industry)

Yes, yes, I am thinking very very long term and with the max presence of corruption. Luckily, I would probably die before any of this occurs, if it does Unfortunately, I will probably die before I can videotape my dreams.

Why are so many people unconcerned about this kind of stuff? Really, it's like the last thing we actually own, and soon we will own nothing. How can this be taken so lightly?!

Same, I think it's cool but the potential for misuse terrifies me! I don't see any good coming out of this in the long term. If people can use something to gain control/money/power, they will.

Originally Posted by Parakonstantius

Yikes! That scares me silly.

Why? What are your crimes?

lol people reading my mind don't scares me, especially since you can think so many things at once that the images they get would be nothing interesting <.<

When people look at an object, the eye's retina recognises an image that is converted into electrical signals which go into the brain's visual cortex.
The team, led by chief researcher Yukiyasu Kamitani, succeeded in catching the signals and then reconstructing what people saw.

Err....

So let me get this straight.

You look at an object, signals are made, the machine 'catches' the signals. And the machine reconstructs what you saw.

Um. Then how can it read your mind? Sounds like it just reading signals that are on their way to your mind.

When you dream, are signals sent from your eye to your brain? I dunno. Technically you aren't 'seeing' anything, its all already in your head, so maybe no signals are needed, therefore the machine wouldn't pick it up.

To me it sounds like you have to actually be physically looking at the object at the time of the machine reading you so that it can pick up your 'signals'. Doesnt sound like mind reading, it sounds like 'signals-being-sent-to-the-brain'-reading, to me :p

...succeeded in catching the signals and then reconstructing what people saw.

It says 'saw', not 'thought'. Right?

There are going to have to be laws governing this sort of machinery. Would something need to be attached to the head to enable people to read your thoughts. There are people who can read other peoples thought without this machinery already.

Originally Posted by Paradox-db3

I find this whole "dream screen" a bit off. After all, it's our brains which are interpretting the signals and turning them into images. In order to actually record a dream so that someone could watch it, the computer, which picks up brain wave activity or dream activity if you will, would have to interpret the signals the same way the individual's brain does. And I'm no brain sergeon (or even spelling sergeon for that matter!) but I would think that your "mind's eye" interprets certain signals differently than mine does. Therefore, a computer would have to generate its own images, which may look nothing like the dream.

You are right. It was a programming game. They needed to identify brain signals associated with 400 images before being able to pick up the word "neuron." Think of how many signals you'd need to identify for the computer to recognize a color, a 3-D image, and action. As you said, this would all have to be personalized.

Originally Posted by Pegasis

There are going to have to be laws governing this sort of machinery. Would something need to be attached to the head to enable people to read your thoughts. There are people who can read other peoples thought without this machinery already.

At least you know who is doing it then. Once this technology is readilly availabe ANYONE could be doing it!

Misleading article imo.

As exciting as this may seem, it can go "wrong" easily. New interogation methods, police monitoring your thoughts etc.

Or you can just call me a paranoid conspiracy theorist... It is in the development stages anyway.

Cool, futuristic technology though!

Originally Posted by Abra

You are right. It was a programming game. They needed to identify brain signals associated with 400 images before being able to pick up the word "neuron." Think of how many signals you'd need to identify for the computer to recognize a color, a 3-D image, and action. As you said, this would all have to be personalized.

Hmm... Couldn't you just put the signal-reading device in, and make it output what it reads into someone else's visual nerve? You could have the reader just watch the dream firsthand and dictate what they see to a scribe. (This assuming everyone uses similar signals, if every individual person has their own code then you would definitely hit a few obstacles.)

Originally Posted by Shift

I dislike this idea. I've been dreaming (haha) about such technology since I was little and wanted to 'videotape my dreams'.

But, like a lot of other science, this won't be limited to personal enjoyment and use by lucid dreamers. Apparently it won't be limited to dreams. If this literally is 'mind-reading' technology, I already foresee a lot of unsanctioned mind-reading occurring... unsanctioned in this case meaning unsanctioned by the thinker, and either being done illegally (brain haxor, man that would suck) or by governments (man that would suck). Yikes.

Overall I don't like this. Our brains and thoughts are our only truly, mostly private possessions. This is like the verita serum of our world (), if it's legit and going to be developed further into a tool. Too many risks to offset the benefits.

If all that was recorded from my dreams was vision, and the other senses were eliminated, that wouldn't be so bad. Vision isn't the only component to a dream, and without the others a lot of meaning is lost.

And if they get around that, and the quality is good enough... uh oh! There goes the porn industry! (and most of the rest of the film industry)

Yes, yes, I am thinking very very long term and with the max presence of corruption. Luckily, I would probably die before any of this occurs, if it does Unfortunately, I will probably die before I can videotape my dreams.

I totally agree.

Even if we could ever reach this sci-fi level of technology and this article wasn't misleading and presumptuous, I have another con to add to the growing list of cons. Personally, I feel like dreams are too special to simply be recorded for every average Joe to see. Their elusiveness and difficulty to capture are part of their whole reward, and part of what is supposed to strengthen us mentally is the challenge of becoming lucid or recording our dreams on pencil and paper/other media. It's the only thing that is entirely our own, that no one else can reach, and we should definitely keep it that way.

Originally Posted by Licity

Hmm... Couldn't you just put the signal-reading device in, and make it output what it reads into someone else's visual nerve? You could have the reader just watch the dream firsthand and dictate what they see to a scribe. (This assuming everyone uses similar signals, if every individual person has their own code then you would definitely hit a few obstacles.)

Better idea:

Have the machine record the signals, and instead of trying to translate them to a screen, feed them back into the visual nerve of the individual. You don't have to mess around with decoding anything, privacy of thought remains intact, and We the Dreamers get what we want: the ability to replay our dreams.

I just finished watching paprika this morning and now i see this.

Im kinda scared.

So you could have lots of fun with it. You could also use it for things like interigation if you could implant images into people. And what happens if you're dream sharing, then loss control and it becomes a nightmare The client won't be very happy.