Passive BCIs: Key to AI Potential

Although technology has become increasingly user-friendly, the more we integrate machines into our lives, the more we need to change our relationship with computers. We have gone from typing to speaking, for example, but these are still small operational sequences that we need to consciously carry out to achieve a specific task and don´t communicate enough information to AI systems.

To enhance our interaction with machines and create a seamless user experience, we need to provide more than just commands. Information that is at our subconscious levels –such as mental states, feelings, thoughts or ideas- are critical inputs needed to have enhanced systems that can assist us better in real-world environments.

About passive brain-computer interface

Passive brain-computer interface (passive BCI) is a terminology introduced by Prof. Dr. Thorsten O. Zander -co-founder of Zander Labs- that changed the concept of BCI. Today, the scientific community includes active, reactive, and passive BCIs when defining this field of study.

Therefore, while most BCIs are active or reactive in nature -where users send voluntary commands to control a device or communicate through an interface (for example, a robotic limb or a cochlear implant)- a passive BCI seeks to detect unintentional changes in the user's cognitive state and use it as input to adapt a system during human-computer interactions.

In passive BCI systems, the communication channel carries input to the computer that was not necessarily or actively intended as such by the human. This means that passive BCIs do not require any conscious effort on the part of the user. By monitoring the brain activity and physiological responses, the system can extract information about the user´s mental state, such as –for example- the level of attention, relaxation, workload, stress, or anxiety.

Let´s say you´re driving your car and you start feeling stressed. This mental state –stress- is not voluntary or conscious. With passive BCI, an AI used in assistive driving could interpret this state and block any incoming calls from your cellphone, switch the type of music you´re listening to or apply a speed limit, for example, to decrease your stress levels without your direct command or even without your awareness.

How passive BCI works

Passive BCI technology is based on cognitive monitoring and real-time brain signal decoding (RBSD) which enable information about the ongoing state of the human brain to be collected as it occurs and the underlying processes to be identified, including mental states –such as error, surprise, workload, and relaxation-, intentions, situational interpretations, and emotions.

But there is more: the combination of not having to rely on active user involvement, plus being based on fast, continuous, and implicit brain activity (and in regards to context and general cognitive and affective user states), enables passive BCI technology to have some truly revolutionary functionalities like neuroadaptivity.

Neuroadaptive technology refers to the category of technology that uses implicit input obtained from brain activity using passive BCIs to dynamically adapt itself to specific aspects of the user’s cognition in real-time.

In other words, it detects naturally-occurring brain activity that was not intended for communication or control, and changes its functionality accordingly, enabling paradigm-shifting possibilities for human-machine systems and making our interaction with technology more human.

How can all of this become real in everyday life?

Imagine what we could accomplish if our interaction with technology became intuitive and effortless.

Yes, it is hard to picture without actually experiencing it.

As futuristic as it may sound, machines will be able to understand us and respond to our needs without us having to take any actions. Cars, computers, houses, or appliances will cater to our needs by automatically taking into account how we feel and the context of the situation.

As mentioned earlier, most aspects of our mental states are not voluntarily induced: we can´t make ourselves hungry or interested in something. It just happens. So, for example, when a learning system-using passive brain-computer interfacing- detects that you´re tired or reaching your attention limit, it could slow down the speed and/or difficulty as it will have the capability to dynamically adapt to your cognitive abilities in real-time and give you just the right amount of hints you need to fulfill a task.

Passive brain-computer interfaces and neuroadaptivity can be applied to a variety of industries such as entertainment or gaming (changing the story or stimuli by interpreting your personal preferences); assistive software for main task optimization (used in driving, learning, designing, etc.); Human-Computer Interaction optimizations (machine error monitoring and implicit control); neuro ergonomics and safety (providing adaptive automation and assistive software in industrial environments); research (maximizing participants responses); clinical procedures (used for psychotherapy assistive tools and neurorehabilitation) and neuroadaptive product development (assisting with relevant software and implementation procedures).

Every brain is unique and complex to understand. Through passive BCI systems, it is possible to better capture the nuances of personal cognition and perception to develop more sophisticated and effective AIs that are catered to a person´s needs and mind states without any conscious effort.

This –and more- is the type of life we can have by developing technologies that include passive brain-computer interaction.

At Zander Labs, we seek to reduce the gap between an idea or an intention and its execution by achieving a more natural and implicit interface with machines. By radically changing our interaction with technology, we transform human-computer interaction into human-computer symbiosis.

So, yes, welcome to the next technology frontier.

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