US-based neurotechnology company Synchron has integrated generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI), powered by OpenAI, into its brain-computer interface (BCI) platform in a new chat feature.
The BCI technology with the new chat feature enables people with severe paralysis who have lost upper limb mobility to interact with the digital world hands-free, through thought alone.
Synchron said that the chat feature, powered by OpenAI’s advanced generative AI system, is designed to be simple to use and easy to learn.
The company’s BCI technology can now generate automated prompts for texting and chatting, categorised by contextual inputs, including the user’s emotion.
Synchron said that its BCI user’s brain data was not shared with OpenAI, as part of the integration.
Synchron CEO and founder Tom Oxley said: “Our users have lost the ability to make choices due to neurological disorders. Generative AI can offer predictions that are contextual to your environment, and the BCI enables individual choices to be made.
“BCIs preserve and extend a fundamental human right: the freedom of expression. We take our autonomy for granted, until it is gone. This is a pivotal moment at the convergence of powerful technologies that can restore lives.”
Mark, a person living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), who is using Synchron’s BCI platform, said: “As someone who will likely lose the ability to communicate as my disease progresses, this technology gives me hope that in the future I’ll still have a way to easily connect with loved ones.”
Synchron said that the integration is crucial for people with neurological disorders, who may otherwise have trouble generating complex responses contextual to their environment.
The neurotechnology company will continue to evaluate the advanced large language model (LLMs) that better address the needs of its BCI users.
Its BCI implant is placed in the blood vessel that lies on the surface of the motor cortex of the brain via the jugular vein, through a minimally invasive endovascular procedure.
Once implanted, the BCI implant will detect and wirelessly transmit motor intent out of the brain, to allow the severely paralysed people to control personal devices with hands-free point-and-click.
Synchron’s BCI platform, integrated with the new chat feature powered by OpenAI’s advanced generative AI models, will allow users to text more effectively.
It includes faster response times, natural conversational speeds, and interaction with texting.
The advancements will benefit a wide range of users, including users with upper limb mobility impairment and other neurological diseases, said the neurotechnology company.
