Human Brain Changes With Digital Technology & Implants

Human Brain Changes With Digital Technology & Implants


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Artificial intelligence (AI), known by some as the industrial revolution (IR) 4.0, is going to change not only the way we do things, how we relate to others, but also what we know about ourselves. AI has many different definitions; some see it as the technology that allows computers and machines to function intelligently. Some see it as the machine that replaces human labour to work for men a more effective and speedier result. 

Others see it as “a system” with the ability to correctly interpret external data, to learn from such data, and to use those learnings to achieve specific goals and tasks through flexible adaptation. And some see it as an application that will assist and take over parts of our body and mind in the future.

Background

The Internet has given us access to a huge amount of information; plus, our personal computers can store every shopping list and stray thought we have, letting us access the information when we need it later. 
A new study finds that this pervasive access to information has not only changed what we remember; it has changed how we remember. Our reliance on the Internet has decreased our ability to easily retain facts. However, we appear to be improving our ability to remember where and how to locate information. 

For instance, we are now more likely to remember what folder we stored information in than we are to remember the information itself. Likewise, when faced with a question of fact, we are more likely to remember search terms that have helped us uncover answers to similar questions than we are to remember the fact itself. 

The history of work, particularly since the Industrial Revolution, is the history of people outsourcing their labor to machines. 

While that began with rote, repetitive physical tasks like weaving, machines have evolved to the point where they can now do what we might think of as complex cognitive work, such as math equations, recognising language and speech, and writing. Machines thus seem ready to replicate the work of our minds, and not just our bodies. In the 21st century, AI is evolving to be superior to humans in many tasks, which suggest humans are ready to outsource our intelligence to technology. With this latest trend, it seems like there’s nothing that can’t soon be automated, meaning that no job is safe from being offloaded to machines.

This vision of the future of work has taken the shape of a zero-sum game, in which there can only be one winner.
We believe, however, that this view of the role AI will play in the workplace is wrong. The question of whether AI will replace human workers assumes that AI and humans have the same qualities and abilities, but, in reality, they don’t. 

AI-based machines are fast, more accurate, and consistently rational, but they aren’t intuitive, emotional, or culturally sensitive. It’s exactly these abilities that humans posses and which make us effective.

In general, people recognise today’s advanced computers as intelligent because they have the potential to learn and make decisions based on the information they take in. But while we may recognise that ability, it’s a decidedly different type of intelligence what we posses.In its simplest form, AI is a computer acting and deciding in ways that seem intelligent. In line with Alan Turing’s philosophy, AI imitates how humans act, feel, speak, and decide. This type of intelligence is extremely useful in an organisational setting: Because of its imitating abilities, AI has the quality to identify informational patterns that optimise trends relevant to the job. In addition, contrary to humans, AI never gets physically tired and as long it’s fed data it will keep going.

These qualities mean that AI is perfectly suited to put at work in lower-level routine tasks that are repetitive and take place within a closed management system. In such a system, the rules of the game are clear and not influenced by external forces. Think, for example, of an assembly line where workers are not interrupted by external demands and influences like work meetings. As an example, the assembly line is exactly the place where Amazon placed algorithms in the role of managers to supervise human workers and even fire them. As the work is repetitive and subject to rigid procedures optimising efficiency and productivity, AI is able to perform in more accurate ways to human supervisors.

Human abilities, however, are more expansive. Contrary to AI abilities that are only responsive to the data available, humans have the ability to imagine, anticipate, feel, and judge changing situations, which allows them to shift from short-term to long-term concerns. These abilities are unique to humans and do not require a steady flow of externally provided data to work as is the case with artificial intelligence.

In this way humans represent what we call authentic intelligence, a different type of AI, if you will. This type of intelligence is needed when open systems are in place. In an open management system, the team or organisation is interacting with the external environment and therefore has to deal with influences from outside. Such work setting requires the ability to anticipate and work with, for example, sudden changes and distorted information exchange, while at the same time being creative in distilling a vision and future strategy. In open systems, transformation efforts are continuously at work and effective management of that process requires authentic intelligence.

Now a US neuro-technology company is making advances in creating AI that could be merged with the human brain. 

This technology could potentially have a wide range of applications, including enhancing our cognitive abilities.
In April 2021, Neuralink, a brain-computer-interface company co-founded by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, put forth a video of a monkey playing a Pong video game using only its thought signals. The monkey had a wireless device implanted in its brain six months prior to the video being shot. This came less than two years after Elon Musk said in July 2019 that Neuralink, a company that had been operating in secret with US government approval since 2016, had performed successful tests of its device on mice and monkeys. 

Now Neuralink is taking its first steps towards conducting human trials for its brain implant device. “The company’s mission is to develop brain-machine interfaces that treat various brain related ailments, with the eventual goal of creating a whole brain interface capable of more closely connecting biological and artificial intelligence,” Neuralink wrote in its blog. “The initial goal of our technology will be to help people with paralysis to regain independence through the control of computers and mobile devices. 

“Our devices are designed to give people the ability to communicate more easily via text or speech synthesis, to follow their curiosity on the web, or to express their creativity through photography, art, or writing apps, “ says Neuralink recently. “As our technology develops, we will be able to increase the channels of communication with the brain, accessing more brain areas and new kinds of neural information... This technology has the potential to treat a wide range of neurological disorders, to restore sensory and movement function, and eventually to expand how we interact with each other, with the world, and with ourselves.”

During the past three decades, digital technology has transformed our daily lives. People at every age are now taking advantage of the vast amounts of available online information and communication platforms that connect them with others. This technology helps us to generate, store, and process enormous amounts of information and interact with each other rapidly and efficiently.

Emerging scientific evidence indicates that frequent digital technology use has a significant impact, both negative and positive, on brain function and behaviour. 

Potential harmful effects of extensive screen time and technology use include heightened attention-deficit symptoms, impaired emotional and social intelligence, technology addiction, social isolation, impaired brain development, and disrupted sleep. However, various apps, videogames, and other online tools may benefit brain health. Functional imaging scans show that internet-naive older adults who learn to search online show significant increases in brain neural activity during simulated internet searches. 

Certain computer programs and videogames may improve memory, multitasking skills, fluid intelligence, and other cognitive abilities. Some apps and digital tools offer mental health interventions providing self-management, monitoring, skills training, and other interventions that may improve mood and behaviour.  Additional research on the positive and negative brain health effects of technology is needed to elucidate mechanisms and underlying causal relationships.

Most adults use the Internet daily, and nearly one out of four report being online most of the time. Because of this transformation to an online world, neuro-scientists have begun focusing their attention on how digital technology may be changing our brains and behaviour. 

The emerging data suggest that constant technology use impacts brain function and behaviour in both positive and negative ways. 

For example, older individuals suffering from cognitive decline could use the Internet to access information to help them remain independent longer; however, many seniors with cognitive complaints are reluctant or unable to adopt new technologies. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) research tracking neural activity during simulated Internet searches suggests that simply searching online may represent a form of mental exercise that can strengthen neural circuits. By contrast, the persistent multitasking that is characteristic of most technology users impairs cognitive performance.4 In this review, we highlight some of the research suggesting potential benefits and possible risks of using digital technology.

Potential Harmful Effects Of Digital Technology

Reduced Attention:   Multiple studies have drawn a link between computer use or extensive screen time (eg, watching television, playing videogames) and symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A 2014 meta-analysis indicated a correlation between media use and attention problems.  A recent survey of adolescents without symptoms of ADHD at the start of the study indicated a significant association between more frequent use of digital media and symptoms of ADHD after 24 months of follow-up. Although most of the research linking technology use and ADHD symptoms has involved children and adolescents, this association has been identified in people at any age.7 

The reason for the link between technology use and attention problems is uncertain, but might be attributed to repetitive attentional shifts and multitasking, which can impair executive functioning. Moreover, when people are constantly using their technology, they have fewer opportunities to interact offline and allow their brain to rest in its default mode.9 

Impaired Emotional and Social Intelligence:   Because of concern that a young, developing brain may be particularly sensitive to chronic exposure to computers, smartphones, tablets, or televisions, the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that parents limit screen time for children aged 2 years or younger, when the brain is particularly malleable. Spending extensive periods of time with digital media translates to spending less time communicating face to face. 

Kirsh and Mounts explored the hypothesis that playing videogames would interfere with the ability to recognise emotions conveyed through facial expressions. They examined the effects of playing videogames on recognition of facial expressions of emotions in 197 students (ages 17 to 23 years). Participants played violent videogames before watching a series of calm faces morph into either angry or happy faces. Participants were asked to quickly identify the emotion while the facial expression changed. The authors found that happy faces were identified faster than angry faces, and that playing violent videogames delayed happy-face recognition time. 

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) hypothesised that preteens restricted from screen-based media would have more opportunities for face-to-face interactions, which would improve their ability to recognise nonverbal emotional and social cues. They studied 51 schoolchildren who spent five days at an overnight nature camp where television, computers, and smartphones were forbidden, and compared them with 54 school-based matched controls who continued their usual media practices (4 hours of screen time per day). 

At baseline and after 5 days, participants were assessed for their ability to recognise emotions from photographs of facial expressions and videotaped scenes of social interactions (without verbal cues).  After 5 days, the nature camp participants restricted from screen time demonstrated significantly better recognition of nonverbal emotional and social cues than participants who continued their usual daily screen time. 

These findings suggest that time away from screen-based media and digital communication tools improves both emotional and social intelligence.

Adverse impact on cognitive and brain development:   Screen time may also adversely impact cognitive and brain development. In a recent review, children under age 2 were reported to spend over 1 hour each day in front of a screen; by age 3, that number exceeded 3 hours. Increased screen time (and less reading time) has been associated with poorer language development and executive functioning, particularly in very young children, as well as poorer language development in a large cohort of minority children. In infants, increased screen time was one of several factors that predicted behavioral problems.

For infants 6 to 12 months, increased screen time was linked to poorer early language development. In children of preschool age and older, digital media directed toward active learning can be educational, but only when accompanied by parental interaction.

Recent research has examined the effects of media exposure on brain development. In a study of children aged 8 to 12 years, more screen and less reading time were associated with decreased brain connectivity between regions controlling word recognition and both language and cognitive control. Such connections are considered important for reading comprehension and suggest a negative impact of screen time on the developing brain. 

Given the growing prominence of screen use among even very young children at stages when brain plasticity is greatest, there is significant concern about the cognitive and brain development of the current generation of screen-exposed children that requires greater understanding

Sleep:    Recent studies indicate that screen exposure disrupts sleep, which can have a negative effect on cognition and behavior. Daily touch-screen use among infants and toddlers was shown to negatively impact sleep onset, sleep duration, and nighttime awakenings. In adolescents, more time using smartphones and touch screens was associated with greater sleep disturbances, and tablet time was associated with poor sleep quality and increased awakenings after sleep onset.

In adults, increased smartphone use was associated with shorter sleep duration and less efficient sleep. Poor sleep quality is associated with brain changes, such as reduced functional connectivity and decreased gray-matter volume, as well as an increased risk for age-associated cognitive impairment and Alzheimer disease. It is unclear whether the act of looking at screens or media content disrupts sleep; however, it is well-known that the wavelength of light exposure affects the circadian rhythms that govern sleep. 

Computer and phone light-emitting diode (LED) screens emit slow wave, blue light that interferes with circadian rhythms. Exposure to LED versus non-LED screens has been shown to produce changes in melatonin levels and sleep quality, and such exposure decreases cognitive performance. Thus, it is important to recognize the effects of screen time on sleep as a moderator of various negative effects on cognition and brain function.

Brain-health Benefits Of Digital Technology

Despite these potential harmful brain-health effects of digital technology, emerging evidence points to several benefits for the aging brain in particular, including opportunities for brain-strengthening neural exercise, cognitive training, and the online delivery of mental-health interventions and support 

Cognitive Training:    Findings showing that mental stimulation and cognitive training improve memory in older adults have led to the development of several memory apps and computer games. Miller and associates explored whether computerised brain-training exercises improved cognitive performance in older adults without dementia. 
Subjects were randomised into an intervention group that used a computer program 5 days a week for 20 to 25 minutes each day, or a wait-list control group. 

Memory Ability:   Neuro-psychological testing at baseline, 2 months, and 6 months showed that the intervention group improved significantly in delayed memory, and the control group did not. Moreover, participants who played the computer program for at least 40 sessions over 6 months improved in immediate memory, delayed memory, and language.

These findings point to the potential benefit of cognitive training using a computerised, self-paced program. In a meta-analysis of computerised cognitive training, investigators found an overall moderate effect on cognition in mild cognitive impairment across 17 trials. Small to moderate effects were reported for global cognition, attention, working memory, and learning abilities.

Multi-tasking Skills:    Multitasking has been defined as performing two simultaneous tasks, which is only possible when the tasks are automatic, but it can also refer to rapid switching between tasks. Research has shown that such task switching increases error rates. Multitasking is common thanks to widespread technology use, and multiple studies point to its negative impact on cognitive performance. However, certain computer games may enhance multitasking, one of the cognitive domains that declines in a linear fashion across the lifespan. 

Anguera and colleagues trained volunteers (ages 60 to 85 years) over 4 weeks using a videogame called NeuroRacer, in which players control a car on a winding road while responding to signs that randomly appear. 
Out of 46 participants, 16 were trained in multitasking (both driving and sign reading), 15 in single-tasking mode (active controls; either sign reading or driving), and 15 received no training (no-contact controls). Only the multitasking training group showed significant improvements in performance scores, which not only exceeded that of untrained individuals in their twenties but was maintained for 6 months without additional training. Moreover, the multitasking training improved other cognitive skills, including working memory and divided and sustained attention.

Working Memory & Fluid Intelligence:    Fluid intelligence refers to the capacity to reason and think flexibly and requires working memory, the ability to retain information over a brief period of time. Investigators have found that training in working memory may improve fluid intelligence. Jaeggi and associates used a training program (n-back task) to investigate the effects of working-memory training on fluid intelligence. 

Healthy subjects were randomised into working-memory training groups that were further randomised according to number of training sessions (8, 12, 17, or 19 days), or a control group that received no training. All subjects received pre- and post-testing on a measure of fluid intelligence at the same time intervals.

The four groups not only showed significant improvements in working memory, but also on tests of fluid intelligence. Moreover, results demonstrated that the longer the training period, the greater the improvement in fluid intelligence. These results indicated successful transfer of improved working memory to improved fluid intelligence measures with a dose-dependent training effect. 

Visual Attention & Reaction Time:    Videogames have been popular for decades, and many gamers who began playing in the 1980s have continued to play through adulthood. Despite potential negative health effects of excessive playing (eg, attention deficits, social withdrawal, increased risk of obesity), recent research suggests potential benefits, such as improved visual attention processing, spatial visualisation, reaction time, and mental rotation. 

Green and Bavelier have shown that playing action videogames more than 4 days per week (at least 1 hour each day) for 6 months enhances visual attention (ie, the ability to recognize and process visual information), spatial attention over the visual field, and task-switching abilities. Rosser and colleagues examined a potential link between action videogaming and laparoscopic surgical skills and suturing.  Surgeons who played videogames more than 3 hours each week made 37% fewer surgical errors, were 27% faster in response times, and scored 42% better in measures of laparoscopic and suturing skills than surgeons who do not play videogames. Moreover, the most experienced players in specific videogames (Super Monkey Ball 2, Star Wars Racer Revenge, and Silent Scope) made 47% fewer errors and performed 39% faster. 

These findings suggest that playing action videogames can improve cognitive and motor skills that improve surgical skills and lower error rates in the operating room.

Other Mental Health Interventions   

Technological advances have brought about novel approaches for delivering mental health support and interventions in the form of apps for smartphones or tablets, as well as through telepsychiatry. Internet-based mental health interventions offer the advantages of accessibility, cost-effectiveness, and anonymity. 

Between 2009 and 2015, the National Institute of Mental Health awarded more than 400 grants totaling $445 million for technology-enhanced mental-health interventions to further investigate roles for technology in preventing and treating mental disorders. Investigators have studied the efficacy of various online mental health interventions.

For example, Peter and colleagues found that an online, 4-week intervention using cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia reduced depression and insomnia ratings at levels comparable to traditional face-to-face interventions. Segal and associates evaluated the effectiveness of treating residual depressive symptoms with a web-based program that delivers mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. They found that use of this program in addition to usual depression care significantly improved depression and functional outcomes compared with usual depression care alone.

Several digital mental health applications have been developed or are in development, such as self-management apps that provide user feedback (eg, medication reminders, stress management tips, heart rate, and breathing patterns). 

Other programs provide skills training using educational videos on anxiety management or the importance of social support. Some applications have the capacity to collect data using smartphone sensors that record movement patterns, social interactions (eg, number of texts and phone calls), and other behaviors throughout the day.
Despite some promising early research, systematic studies demonstrating the efficacy of these emerging apps are limited. A recent review58 indicated that only 3% of downloadable apps had research to justify their effectiveness claims, and most of that research was performed by the program developers. 
Another recent survey of online-technology use to support mental health and well-being indicated that smartphone apps were the most commonly used technology: 78% of respondents used them either alone or in combination with other technologies. 

The apps that are being used provide guided activities, relaxation, and tracking; social media and discussion forums; and web-based programs to assist in the management of daily stress and anxiety.

One field that will be interesting to follow is the use of artificial intelligence in language processing. 
As of now, artificial intelligence does not have an overall good language understanding and is still unable to extract the substance from an extensive text because it lacks long-term memory and the ability to perform adequate abstraction.

Conclusion

Scientists and AI experts know that the technology that has been developed with the help of AI is just a start and there are too much that is still to be explored. AI, machine learning, and deep learning can be implemented in many areas where it can practically boost productivity beyond human imagination. It is currently providing mind-blowing results in areas as complex as logo designing. Humanity could never imagine this level of progress in the past.

Research on the brain-health consequences of digital technology is beginning to elucidate how these novel devices and programs can both help and harm brain function. 

Their frequent use heightens ADHD symptoms, interferes with emotional and social intelligence, can lead to addictive behaviours, increases social isolation, and interferes with brain development and sleep. However, specific programs, videogames, and other online tools may provide mental exercises that activate neural circuitry, improve cognitive functioning, reduce anxiety, increase restful sleep, and offer other brain-health benefits. 

Future research needs to focus on the underlying mechanisms and causal relationships between technology use and brain health, with a focus on both the positive and negative impact of digital technology use.

References:  

NCBI:      NCBI:       HBR:        Green European

Techcrunch:     Business InsiderWalden University:  
 
Teslarati:     The DP:      Neuralink:      Computas:  

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