Are we nearing the singularity? On this episode, Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-hosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly learn about brain machine interfaces and prosthetics you can control with your mind, with biomedical engineer Dr. Cindy Chestek and neurosurgeon Dr. Parag Patil. Learn about engineering robotic limbs and teaching artificial intelligence how to interpret neural signals. How do you get a brain implant to work with the body’s electrical and chemical signals? How do you decode its messages? Is the brain’s motor cortex in the same place for everybody? How do you know which part of the brain controls the hands? How safe are brain implants? Find out about electrodes, circuits, and how someone with a neuroprosthetic can keep a sense of embodiment. Does scarring get in the way of the device? Can this technology allow paralysis patients to regain control of their limbs? We discover how machine learning is utilized to learn about the language of the brain. How is one thought different from another thought that creates movement? Will we be able to augment ourselves using neural interfaces? Could brain machine interfaces be used for mind control? Could you physically change someone’s mind? We talk about the ethical framework behind brain implants, deep brain stimulations, and the cure to Parkinson’s Disease. How do you power a brain implant? All that, plus, how far away are we from the sci-fi world of mind control? Get the NEW Cosmic Queries book (5/5 ⭐s on Amazon!): https://amzn.to/3dYIEQF Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/startalkradio FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE to StarTalk: Twitter: http://twitter.com/startalkradio Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StarTalk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startalk About StarTalk: Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up! #StarTalk #neildegrassetyson 00:00 - Introduction 05:18 - Degrees of freedom: Engineering the hand 07:00 - What is a Brain Machine Interface? 10:15 - Connecting the brain to the prosthetic 11:30 - Artificial Intelligence & Brain Signals 15:44 - Reversing Paralysis 18:00 - Needles in the brain & Implants 21:44 - Hardware, Phantom Limbs, & Embodiment 23:40 - Scar Tissue & Electrodes 27:17 - Reversing Paralysis & Spinal Injury 28:40 - Decoding Neurosignals 30:15 - Biggest Challenges: The Immune System 33:15 - Understanding the Language of the Brain 36:00 - Accounting for Neuroplasticity 39:05 - Future Applications 42:20 - Mind Control? The Ethics 47:20 - Batteries 49:00 - Optimization & Augmentation