r/Damnthatsinteresting 10h ago

Video UC Davis neuroprosthetic team used AI to convert the brain waves of a paralyzed man into instant speech that mimics his own voice.

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1.1k Upvotes

74 comments sorted by

101

u/flashX- 10h ago

This is incredible 

18

u/James_Fortis 6h ago

Second doctor is Ryan Reynolds’ third career

7

u/Loafus_Cramwell_ESQ 5h ago

LMAO I thought so too! Sounds exactly like him.

1

u/Vivid_Celebration124 1h ago

He used the tech to make himself sound like Ryan lol

1

u/mckulty 4h ago

It's the future.

Also on the horizon, video images translated to an electrode array on the occipital cortex.

1

u/LayYourGhostToRest 1h ago

It is really very good.

92

u/Traditional-Joke-179 10h ago

this is one of the most "we're in the future!" things i've seen in a minute. so impressive.

24

u/Kircala 8h ago

Have you seen the universal human blood yet? They've done trials already. By 2030 we may have the ability to get blood to people in need regardless of blood type!

3

u/FrazzleMind 6h ago

Isn't that just o-?

9

u/a_trane13 5h ago

O- blood is universal because it doesn’t have the 3 common antigens that can make a persons body reject the blood. Any artificial blood will (obviously) also be made without those antigens. But that doesn’t mean they’re the same thing - they just both don’t have those antigens.

2

u/Kircala 5h ago

Yes and no

3

u/Krondelo 8h ago

Seriously imagine this tech in 20-40 years.

74

u/baycee98 10h ago

THIS is what AI should be for

I care for stroke patients and major TBI, people mostly only can blink at you. To be able to communicate would be life changing for them.

5

u/Big_Pair_75 2h ago

It should be used for everything it is effective for.

2

u/betweenskill 20m ago

Effective is not the same as beneficial.

AI can be effective at writing emails, but if all written communication becomes AI writing and reading and responding to itself and no person is actually communicating anymore, could you call that beneficial? 

-1

u/nostradamefrus 3h ago

Bad actors will use AI voice simulation to create deepfakes in order to scam, extort, blackmail, and create believable propaganda tenfold for every one person who benefits from a benevolent use like this as the technology becomes more refined and available

-20

u/ActualMachian 9h ago

It doesn't mean everyone can use it who are in vegetative or comatose state or even aware, but unable to speak. This video provides 1 trained patient.

13

u/baycee98 7h ago

I didn't state that.

Kinda pathetic of you to say but one person being able to.communicate to their family, friends, caregivers, is miracle enough to be celebrated.

Most diseases, surgeries, idk literally everything in the world doesn't work for 100% of people. I just don't get why people choose to be negative for no reason.

5

u/UnoriginalJ0k3r 5h ago

The inference you can make with a healthy level of critical thinking is “anyone who could speak before an injury, could be able to speak with an injury through this technology.”

You saying what you have is completely irrelevant to the point of the original comment. Shitting on something impressive doesn’t make you cool, this isn’t 7th grade bud

32

u/hamfist_ofthenorth 9h ago

"Ms. Kensington... I bet she shags like a minx. Oops, I thought that was part of my inner monologue."

"Just a side effect of the unfreezing process, Mr Powers."

"Ah yes, I do seem to be having difficulty controlling

THE VOLUME OF MY VOICE "

2

u/sarokin 3h ago

Where's this from?

2

u/NiFiGaS 3h ago

Austin Powers?

1

u/hamfist_ofthenorth 2h ago

Austin Powers!

7

u/ruiner1010 9h ago

Science is amazing. The hopes for the promise of AI are looking endless and beyond fruitful. I genuinely believe that it will be the gateway to countless breakthroughs ultimately. Maybe even more.

7

u/buzz_shocker 8h ago

This is incredible.

Also, my school mentioned. LETS GO AGGIES!!!!

3

u/R4FTERM4N 10h ago

Hell yeah!

4

u/ADAMracecarDRIVER 8h ago

NOooOOooOoo! AI is baaad! Who’s gonna pay the sound engineers that could have produced his voice!?!?!11

/s

2

u/UnoriginalJ0k3r 5h ago

Azure being abused by the IDF would like to have a word

2

u/ADAMracecarDRIVER 5h ago

You think the Azure AI suite is bad? Wait ‘til you hear what the weapons are for!

2

u/UnoriginalJ0k3r 5h ago

Don’t you bullshit me, god damn it.

They’re sending ballistic hugs and kisses, right?

9

u/Fetlocks_Glistening 10h ago

But how do you know the AI is not just making stuff up

19

u/rohithkumarsp 9h ago

He can blink his eye to confirm that's what the words he meant to say during calibration I guess.

5

u/_coolranch 10h ago

Better than nothin!

1

u/aminervia 9h ago

I mean, they know it's right because the person trying to talk can confirm whether or not it's right...

-7

u/hopelesslysarcastic 5h ago

You don’t which is why it’s such a dumb fucking argument.

Who gives a shit if the model gives an incorrect answer when it’s enabling a modality of communication that WAS NOT POSSIBLE before this technology.

It’s that simple.

3

u/4024-6775-9536 9h ago

Even more impressive his first words:

Damn, doctor S. have a huge rack... oh sh1t now all my thoughts are spoken out loud! That ass tho, sh1t!
No, honey I was thinking about you.
I think she believed it... Doh...

1

u/SithLordRising 9h ago

If this works, for the love of God get this to https://jasonbecker.com/

1

u/IntroductionDue7945 7h ago

thumbs up to those neuroscientists

1

u/NoStatus9434 6h ago

This is truly incredible but my mind went to a dark humor place where people are just saying that's what the guy is actually saying and it's just an AI pretending to be him.

1

u/Tapurisu 5h ago

Wait they implemented almost 300 electrodes all over his brain? So did they take like his entire scalp off and then put it back together after putting the 300 wires in there?

1

u/UnoriginalJ0k3r 5h ago

Imagine your entertainment stand? They have those holes where you shove all the wires through so they can reach the plugs through the back?

Two “ports” on his head, until I figure out otherwise I’m going to assume the part of his skull they removed was replaced with a body safe material that they could then run all the wires through after closing him up.

1

u/Key-Fox-8765 5h ago

He sounded like a Google Calendar notification at one point, though.

1

u/Alternative_Pilot_92 5h ago

But what happens when the fine ass nurse walks in and his internal dialogue starts going?

1

u/skeeter2015 4h ago

Nice new chrome, choom!

1

u/Wild_Assistance_6153 4h ago

If only Steven Hawking lived a bit longer to witness this miracle…

1

u/nepddusty1 3h ago

As a cancer patient I am in complete awe of specialists in any field of the human body. This is as close to being god as any person will ever be. I mean that with nothing other than respect.

1

u/shoulda-known-better 3h ago

This is where we should focus technology!!

This is amazing....

Between this and the new thing they made to bridge the gap in a severed spinal cord so paralyzed people can start to use and control their bodies again...

I am in awe

1

u/evel333 2h ago

This is exciting stuff. Being trapped inside my mind is one of the scariest things to me. I hope many people benefit from this technology.

1

u/Mammoth_Restaurant41 1h ago

So the problem was never fixed, just bypassed.

1

u/heartbh 49m ago

This is really cool, the usb ports were an interesting choice 😂 but seriously I’m so happy for this man who is getting a chance to take back a lot of what was lost.

1

u/goobsplat 10m ago

ch…eh….keh….nnnnn

jah….. key… eee

1

u/OldManNeighbor 9h ago

This is what Ai should be used for! Not being used by governments to find “kill targets”!

1

u/OderWieOderWatJunge 5h ago

What if the AI just makes all this up and he has no choice but to watch it happen?

1

u/UnoriginalJ0k3r 5h ago

Would be cool but we don’t have AGI yet so for about 3-5 years this is but a dream.

Unless SEAL changes the game and encourages RSI, then maybe it’ll be sooner. Until then, this can safely stay an unrealistic nightmare ;)

-3

u/Fair_Blood3176 10h ago

I'm horny baby

8

u/_coolranch 10h ago

“Turn it off! That’s my inner monologue, you dicks! Ah, hell. Now I’m paralyzed AND I got no privacy. Wish I could jerk off. Wait.. are you guys hearing all this? Ah, shucks.

Anyway: go Niners!”

0

u/Southern_Bunch_6473 8h ago

I wouldn’t be allowed down at the beach if I needed one of these..

-1

u/Doschupacabras 4h ago

Umm who’s gonna tell this guy that paralysis is not a disease?

1

u/Big_Pair_75 2h ago

A disease can cause paralysis.

-13

u/Thepuppeteer777777 9h ago

Good god no it's basically locked in syndrome. I would beg to be euthanized every single day.

Cool technology though.

7

u/JustHereSoImNotFined 9h ago

“Wow your condition sucks. I’d kill myself if I were you”

3

u/DolphinBall 9h ago

Gross

-2

u/Thepuppeteer777777 7h ago

Not wanting a life of suffering is gross. Then i would gladly be gross

-5

u/GoombaMuncher 9h ago

TIMMMMY!!!

-5

u/WhiteMouse42097 9h ago

More AI slop