Synchron and OpenAI Integrate ChatGPT into Brain-Computer Interfaces, Enhancing Communication for Users with Mobility Limitations

San Francisco, California United States of America
ChatGPT uses inputs from the environment as an extension of the user's brain.
Mark, a person living with ALS, has already experienced benefits such as time and energy savings.
Possibilities include incorporating conversational context, calendar integrations, and emotional categorization.
Synchron aims to build user knowledge base locally and protect privacy. Long-term play involves unlocking broader applications in consumer technology ecosystem.
Synchron and OpenAI integrate ChatGPT into brain-computer interfaces for enhanced communication for users with mobility limitations.
Users can navigate and select responses through prompts displayed on an iPad App.
Synchron and OpenAI Integrate ChatGPT into Brain-Computer Interfaces, Enhancing Communication for Users with Mobility Limitations

In recent developments, brain-computer interface (BCI) companies Synchron and OpenAI have integrated ChatGPT to enhance communication for people with severe mobility limitations. This integration allows users to navigate and select responses through prompts displayed on an iPad App.

Synchron, a leading-edge BCI company, is focused on restoring autonomy to their users by enabling more natural interactions with digital environments. The ChatGPT integration represents a frontier beyond text as it uses inputs from the environment that behave like an extension of the user's brain.

The possibilities for this technology are vast, ranging from incorporating conversational context from family members and caregivers to powering calendar integrations and other practical applications. Emotional categorization is used to provide users with a context-based array of choices, allowing for different prompts spanning various positive, neutral, or negative responses.

Synchron does not share any brain data with OpenAI and aims to build that knowledge base of the user locally and protect their privacy. The long-term play involves unlocking broader applications across a rapidly evolving consumer technology ecosystem.

Mark, a person living with ALS, has already experienced the benefits of this integration. It has saved him time and energy by reducing pressure in communication through the platform.

The future of BCIs holds great potential as they evolve towards social robotics with semi-autonomous AI agents. Synchron's non-exclusive partnership with OpenAI is a significant step towards realizing this vision.

Despite advancements in technology, it's important to remember that there are privacy challenges associated with user data protection and encryption between device, local network, and cloud. As the BCI market continues to evolve, addressing these concerns will be crucial for widespread adoption.



Confidence

95%

Doubts
  • Are there any potential negative consequences of this technology for users' privacy?
  • Is the user data protection and encryption between device, local network, and cloud adequately addressed?

Sources

99%

  • Unique Points
    • Synchron is a leading-edge brain-computer interface (BCI) company experimenting with ChatGPT integration.
    • Mark, a Synchron patient diagnosed with ALS, uses the BCI to communicate and facilitate typing with the help of ChatGPT.
    • ChatGPT generates possible responses for Mark to choose from, making communication faster and easier.
    • Synchron’s CEO Tom Oxley envisions future BCIs using large language models like ChatGPT to take in context and provide relevant prompts for users.
    • OpenAI’s demo of a vision-impaired man navigating the city with ChatGPT caught Oxley’s attention.
    • Synchron’s BCI, called a stentrode, is inserted inside a blood vessel near the brain’s motor cortex and connects people’s brains directly to their devices.
    • Synchron’s BCI costs between $50,000 and $100,000.
    • There haven’t been any implantable BCIs that have earned market approval from the FDA yet, but Synchron hopes to change this.
  • Accuracy
    No Contradictions at Time Of Publication
  • Deception (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Fallacies (95%)
    The article contains some instances of appeals to authority and inflammatory rhetoric, but no formal or dichotomous fallacies are present. The author provides expert opinions from Tom Oxley and Jesse Orrall to establish the credibility of the information presented in the article. Additionally, there are a few instances where the author uses emotive language such as 'hope coming' and 'making an impact', but these do not significantly detract from the overall quality of the article.
    • ][Tom Oxley] tells me the company has been experimenting with different AI models for about a year, but the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4o in May raised some interesting new possibilities.[/]
    • [Mark] says the use of his hands is 'almost gone at this point.' He’s one of 10 people in the world who’ve been implanted with Synchron’s BCI as part of clinical trials.[
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (0%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication

98%

  • Unique Points
    • Synchron has integrated OpenAI’s ChatGPT to incorporate prompt-based interactions with their brain-computer interface.
    • The integration enables users to navigate and select responses through prompts displayed on an iPad App.
    • Synchron’s mission is restoring autonomy to their users, focusing on restoring the ability to engage with digital environments more naturally for people with severe mobility limitations in their upper limbs.
    • The integration represents a frontier beyond text, as it uses inputs from the environment that behave like an extension of the user’s brain.
    • These could range from incorporating conversational context from family members and caregivers to powering calendar integrations and other practical applications, including eventually connecting with other consumer devices.
    • Emotional categorization is used to provide users with a context-based array of choices, allowing for different prompts spanning various positive, neutral, or negative responses.
    • Synchron does not share any brain data with OpenAI and aims to build that knowledge base of the user locally and protect that privacy.
    • The long-term play involves unlocking broader applications across a rapidly evolving consumer technology ecosystem.
  • Accuracy
    No Contradictions at Time Of Publication
  • Deception (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Fallacies (90%)
    The article contains no logical fallacies. The author presents a clear and informative account of Synchron's integration with OpenAI's ChatGPT, detailing the benefits and potential applications of the technology for people with severe mobility limitations. The author also discusses the challenges and considerations involved in using large language models in BCI systems, such as privacy concerns and the need for reliable performance. No fallacies were found.
    • As this grows with different inputs, we're going to be building interaction methods that are simple, but which unlock access to technology that we need to use our hands for.”
    • The reason we did this is because the multimodal ‘4o’ is something different, because it uses inputs from the environment that behave like an extension of the brain of the user.
    • As a casual user of various popular LLMs, I admittedly to Oxley that when I first saw the press release, I shrugged. Despite knowing full well that off-the-shelf GPT I use differs substantially from this application, I still had trouble seeing the significance.
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication

98%

  • Unique Points
    • Technology exists that allows controlling a computer or a machine with one’s mind
  • Accuracy
    No Contradictions at Time Of Publication
  • Deception (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Fallacies (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication