Arnav Kapur, a graduate student at MIT’s Media Lab, has developed a device called AlterEgo that has the potential to disrupt our last refuge from constant connectivity—our own thoughts. In a recent feature on “60 Minutes,” Kapur demonstrated how the device works. By wearing it on his head, he can internally vocalize a command or question, similar to silently conducting a Google search in your mind. The device intercepts the brain’s electrical signals meant for the vocal cords and transmits them to a computer. The computer processes the information and communicates it back to the user through vibrations in the inner ear. Read More Business News on our website.
During the segment, Kapur showcased his abilities using AlterEgo. He effortlessly provided answers to complex calculations like 45,689 divided by 67 and correctly named the largest city in Bulgaria along with its population. Impressively, he even managed to order a pizza using his thoughts, which duly arrived.
While many of us have performed similar mental exercises countless times, Kapur’s device takes it a step further by bringing those thoughts into the physical realm. Although the pizza Kapur ordered was a tangible result of his thought process, for most of us, the experience is limited to the realm of imagination—we can only imagine the taste of the pizza we conjure in our minds.