如果有一天，你的想法可以通過電腦來閱讀，你的記憶可以通過電腦來上傳和下載，你愿意接入這樣的腦機(jī)交互系統(tǒng)嗎？

或許，你覺得這是好萊塢電影里才會有的情節(jié)。但是，埃隆-馬斯克最近表示，這項技術(shù)離我們不遠(yuǎn)了。

Elon Musk has revealed his Neuralink startup is close to announcing the first brain-machine interface to connect humans and computers.

埃隆-馬斯克近日表示，其創(chuàng)業(yè)公司“神經(jīng)連接”即將公布首個人機(jī)交互界面，該界面可將人腦和計算機(jī)連接起來。

The entrepreneur took to Twitter to tell followers the technology would be “coming soon” – though he failed to provide details.

馬斯克在推特上告訴粉絲說，這項技術(shù)“即將實現(xiàn)”，但他沒有透露細(xì)節(jié)。

Neuralink was set up in 2016 with the ambitious goal of developing hardware to enhance the human brain, however, little about how this will work has been made public.

神經(jīng)連接公司在2016年成立，其龐大的目標(biāo)是開發(fā)計算機(jī)硬件增強人腦功能，但具體實現(xiàn)方式鮮少對公眾透露。

The startup’s website, which is advertising vacancies for 11 different jobs, describes the futuristic technology as an “ultra-high bandwidth” connection between the human brain and computers.

公司網(wǎng)站正招聘11個不同工種的空缺職位，并將這項未來科技描述為人腦與計算機(jī)之間的“超高帶寬”。

futuristic [fju?t??'r?st?k]：adj.未來派的；未來主義的

Mr Musk has frequently claimed the rapid rise of artificial intelligence poses an existential risk to humanity. Such an interface, he says, is essential if humans are to compete with such technology in the future.

馬斯克已屢次重申，人工智能的飛速發(fā)展威脅到了人類的生存。他說，如果人類將來會與智能科技競爭，這樣的腦機(jī)交互非常重要。

existential [,egz?'sten?(?)l]：adj.存在主義的；有關(guān)存在的

At a technology conference in 2016, Mr Musk said humans risked being treated like house pets by AI machines if a brain-computer interface was not built.

馬斯克曾在2016年的一次科技會議上說，如果不建立腦機(jī)交互系統(tǒng)，將來人工智能機(jī)器就會像對待家養(yǎng)寵物一樣對待人類。

“I don’t love the idea of being a house cat, but what’s the solution?” he said. “I think one of the solutions that seems maybe the best is to add an AI layer.”

他說：“我不想成為家養(yǎng)寵物，那該怎么解決這個問題呢？我覺得似乎最好的辦法就是在人腦增加一個人工智能分層。”

Speaking last year on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Mr Musk said Neuralink’s technology would allow humans to “effectively merge with AI”.

馬斯克去年在《喬·羅根的經(jīng)歷》播客上說，神經(jīng)連接公司的技術(shù)將使人類“有效地與人工智能融合在一起”。

A paper published in Nature Nanotechnology in 2015 described a concept for this connection, explaining how a flexible circuit could be injected into a living brain.

2015年發(fā)表在《自然納米技術(shù)》上的一篇研究論文描述了腦機(jī)連接的概念，解釋了柔性電路可以如何被注入活人的大腦。

“We’re trying to blur the distinction between electronic circuits and neural circuits,” said Harvard researcher Charles Lieber, who co-authored the study.

研究報告的合著者、哈佛大學(xué)研究員查理斯-利伯說：“我們正試著模糊電子線路和神經(jīng)回路之間的區(qū)別。”

“We have to walk before we can run, but we think we can really revolutionize our ability to interface with the brain.”

“在跑之前我們要先學(xué)會走，但我們認(rèn)為我們將徹底革新腦機(jī)交互的能力?！?/p>

Despite the technology’s potential to augment the human brain, experts have warned that brain-computer interfaces risk being hijacked by rogue artificial intelligence.

這項技術(shù)除了有可能增強人腦以外，專家還提醒說，腦機(jī)交互還可能被兇猛的人工智能劫持。

augment [??g'ment]：vt.增加；增大

Such a scenario could lead to AI controlling the thoughts, decisions and emotions of a person using a brain-computer link.

一旦被劫持，將導(dǎo)致人工智能可以通過腦機(jī)連接控制人的思維、決定和感情。

“Technological developments mean that we are on a path to a world in which it will be possible to decode people’s mental processes and directly manipulate the brain mechanisms underlying their intentions, emotions and decision,” stated a Nature comment piece written by 27 neuroscientists, ethicists and machine intelligence engineers.

27位神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)學(xué)家、倫理學(xué)家和機(jī)器智能工程師發(fā)表在《自然》上的一篇評論寫道：“技術(shù)的發(fā)展意味著，在將來，人們可能會解碼人的心路歷程，并直接操縱大腦機(jī)制，從而了解他們的目的、情感和決定?！?/p>

“The possible clinical and societal benefits of neurotechnologies are vast. To reap them, we must guide their development in a way that respects, protects and enables what is best in humanity.”

“神經(jīng)科技可能產(chǎn)生的臨床和社會影響非常之大。為從中受益，我們必須進(jìn)行引導(dǎo)，使其朝著尊重、保護(hù)并體現(xiàn)人類至善面的方向發(fā)展?！?/p>

英文來源：獨立報

翻譯&編輯：yaning