Arnav Kapur, an India-born MIT student, has invented a device which can let you converse with machines and AI without speech, simply by "articulating words internally"
In 2018, Arnav Kapur, a Delhi-born student of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), developed a device that has the potential to change the relation between man and machine. ‘AlterEgo’, as per MIT, is a non-invasive, wearable, peripheral neural interface that allows users to “converse in natural language with machines, artificial intelligence (AI) assistants, services, and other people without any voice—without opening their mouth, and without externally observable movements—simply by articulating words internally”.
According to MIT, the primary focus of this project is to help support communication for people with speech disorders, including conditions like ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and MS (multiple sclerosis). “Beyond that, the system has the potential to seamlessly integrate humans and computers—such that computing, the internet and AI would weave into our daily life as a ‘second self’ and augment our cognition and abilities.”
Also read: All work and some play: The playful side of AI
The device is also capable of doing tasks such as ordering a pizza without using any app/phone. Kapur says the idea behind the device is for a user to have the entire internet in their head—eventually becoming an expert on any subject.
Also read: The fear from AI is not new: Ajai Chowdhry
According to MIT, Arnav’s work explores whether AI and computing could instead be woven into the human experience as a direct extension of our cognition, rather than via external devices. In this way, computers would extend human ability multifold, instead of diminishing or replacing humans from our environment.