
Computer system transcribes words users “speak silently” - anonytrary
http://news.mit.edu/2018/computer-system-transcribes-words-users-speak-silently-0404
======
anonytrary
Researchers have created a potential keyboard competitor. A headset that is
worn, which picks up sound (?) and electrical signals from the jaw area, with
a resolution of 20 unique signals. Testers have been able to communicate chess
game moves "silently" with an accuracy of around 92%. Researchers seem
optimistic that N > 20 in the future.

This reminds me of a relevant HackerNews discussion about biological
interfaces a few days ago:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16727719](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16727719)

I am so happy to see progress in this area. While we're still some ways away
from replacing keyboards, this seems like a huge step in the right direction.
AFAIK, a vocabulary size of 20 for inconspicuous communication is unheard of,
but if this has been done elsewhere, please share links!

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SlowBro
I’m so happy to see this. Keyboards allow me to have private conversations in
an office setting, which is great because I am shy in person :-)

It’s one reason I suppose that we will have keyboards around for a while
longer, despite advances in voice recognition. That and I can’t imagine trying
to code with voice...

~~~
breitling
>Keyboards allow me to have private conversations in an office setting

I'm sure you already know this (since it's old tech), but, one can deduce what
you're typing just by listening to your keyboard typing sounds.

[https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/09/snooping_on_t...](https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/09/snooping_on_tex.html)

~~~
SlowBro
Yep I am aware. And there are even easier methods: A $30 keystroke logger
could be inserted on my keyboard USB plug and I’d never notice.

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Roboprog
Great. Several people have pointed how this can essentially be used to read
minds.

So it WILL be built, to keep the homeland safe. :-(

Almost forgot: “I love Big Brother!”

~~~
scrupulusalbion
I doubt this could ever be used to arbitrarily read minds. Even if you could
do the measurements without the targer knowing, you would have to somehow
correlate the target's real thoughts with those measurements. In the article,
the targets voluntarily provide that correlation to measurements during a
training phase. It might be the case that some neuro-physical patterns might
be common across targets, but that seems very unlikely.

If the target is in your custody and you coerce him to give training data,
then he could just give garbage data. You tell him to think "fish barrel
neuton whale", but he really thinks "somebody once told me".

Do sub-vocalizations only occur for certain categories of thoughts? I suspect
that facial memories do not induce sub-vocalizations.

~~~
schoen
Maybe a more intrusive setting would be something like a polygraph. The
subject would be first tested to ensure that the training worked to a high
accuracy level (like the polygraph baseline measurement). You could tell to
some extent whether the subject was cooperating with this training because you
could see the resulting accuracy rates, and maybe continue the training until
they improved, or else declare the subject to have failed to cooperate with
the test.

Probably, as with an present-day polygraph, people could specifically train
themselves to produce inaccurate results, but also presumably most people
wouldn't have done so.

On the other hand, I don't know what level of language this system operates at
so I don't know if you're detecting phonemes, words, phoneme features (like
+voice/-voice), or what. This seems significant for understanding how usable
it would be for "mind reading" if the subject's thoughts included many words
that hadn't been individually trained. If you're just detecting conditions
that you've already trained for, it doesn't seem like there's really anything
new here (from the mind-reading point of view, as opposed to the UI point of
view) compared to existing biofeedback or polygraph systems because you're
mainly just detecting when a known physiological state is or isn't re-
elicited, which is something the earlier systems could already do.

Edit: other commenters said they can only distinguish about 20 words, so
presumably the technology has a long way to go before it would be relevant to
semi-adversarial mind reading.

------
terminado

      Dave, although you took very thorough precautions in 
      the pod against my hearing you, I could see your lips 
      move.

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yodon
How cool - as an MIT undergrad back in the 80’s I spent quite a bit of time
trying to design a device for this purpose using ultrasound to probe what’s
going on in the throat/mouth during subvocalized thoughts. For me the genesis
was realizing I couldn’t “say” sentences in my head any faster than I could
say them out loud, and suspecting that my brain was trying to subvocalize the
words (send below-threshold activation signals to the muscles in my mouth and
throat, and accidentally introducing speech rate limiting in the process).
I’ve no formal proof if that’s the case, but it does appear they were able to
make the concept work.

As cool as this kind of tech is, there are a lot of really troubling
interrogation style abuses that become possible if you can hear a person’s
subvocalized thoughts.

~~~
azinman2
That said, I can think much faster than I can speak or type, and both
communication forms interact differently with my thought process.

Speech recognition will never be a good input UI for me as I think _while_
typing — they’re in a tight feedback loop. Speech does not work this way; I
can’t easily delete the last 3 words and reform the same sentence.

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o_____________o
This would be amazing for stutterers

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fapjacks
This could be a great tool for use on the battlefield. Reminds me of the
subvocal mics from the Shadowrun RPG, which was really a key piece of
equipment to buy for any character working in a group.

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LogicLady
Was anyone else __greatly __concerned with this? I was worried as soon as I
read the headline, and as I read through the article I was simultaneously
fascinated and distressed as my fears were confirmed.

This technology is absolutely fabulous and has _so_ many potential uses (far
beyond the accessibility and military use mentioned in the article). Think
about it: wearing a headset that can respond to your thoughts. An
Alexa/Bixsby/Siri/Google/whatever Voice Assistant right inside your head,
performing tasks and answering questions all without ever needing you to whip
out your phone or speak aloud. I already wear a Bluetooth headset 24/7 because
of my job. I know some people think in concepts and visuals, but I form my
thoughts by verbalizing my them into words and always have an inner monologue
going.

You could quickly and (most importantly) _privately_ take notes just by
thinking of what you want to remember. You could quickly send messages in loud
environments __without losing focus __\- if you 're at a concert and want to
message your friends to see where they're at, you just need to think it; no
need for shouting or getting your phone out. You could do things in the middle
of a conversation without the other party being aware and without drawing
attention to yourself - take notes on the resort they went to on vacation or
that book they recommended, look up the definition of a word or fact you're
unsure of so you don't look like an idiot, send a quick message to your boss
or spouse without interrupting conversation, lookup movie showtimes or
restaurant hours. Keep a journal of your thoughts and you would never forget
anything ever again - record your thoughts as you're brainstorming, falling
asleep, driving, or shopping.

The possibilities grow when you consider using this technology in the future
with others (especially tech that isn't yet widespread, well-developed, or
even thought up yet). I see this technology being combined with some sort of
augmented reality that acts as an alternative to our current mobile device
displays. An obvious contender would be [the AR 'smart' glasses currently on
the market]([https://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-ar-
glasses,review-2804.htm...](https://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-ar-
glasses,review-2804.html)) and in research/development. These technologies
would help integrate the internet and computing power into our daily lives
_more seamlessly and less obtrusively_.

AR displays could be navigated more effectively using your thoughts rather
than tracking eye movement. Also, in addition to your voice assistant
responding via audio they could respond with visuals on your private AR
display. You could see an acquaintance on the street and as you're about to
pass them, quickly think "What's their name, and pull up their
contact/profile". When you're in an important meeting you could silently and
privately pull up relevant items, like a job posting if you're in an
interview.

The ability and very real possibility for this technology to become a common,
everyday household fixture is what really concerned me. People don't care
enough about their privacy; just look at all of the technology out there today
like social media and Google where we freely give away our data to make our
lives easier. I'm guilty of it too. The only thing standing between us and
chaos is our fragile and naive trust that these corporations will handle our
data honestly, morally, transparently, and properly. I really hope we change
as a society and start taking our privacy seriously before more technologies
like this become commonplace. Otherwise, companies providing it will be able
to store and sell your thoughts. I can see companies tracking and selling your
thoughts as you walk through the grocery store or as you watch TV, and it only
grows darker from there.

Alright, I'm done with my rant and fear of a dystopian future. I just had to
share because I've been thinking about it all morning since I woke up!

~~~
andygates
Seems no more dystopian in an assistant setting than voice input now: listen
for a wake-phrase and relay what's said after that.

As gargoyle tech, it's even more promising than that Tap chorded keyboard-cum-
knuckleduster.

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Invictus0
Wow. This has some seriously scary implications for uses by repressive
regimes. Literal thought policing.

