Unquiet Minds: AI-Decoded Inner Speech Brings New Hope and New Questions for Brain-Computer Interfaces
A milestone in brain-computer interface (BCI) research is reshaping what may be possible for people who cannot speak. In new experiments that extend decades of BrainGate work, researchers show that implanted neural interfaces, when paired with advanced artificial intelligence, can begin to translate not only the intended movements of a hand or mouth but the inner speech that lives inside the mind. The breakthrough does not simply move a cursor or type a letter; it hints at a future where a person’s unspoken thoughts could become spoken language through a machine. For families and patients in Thailand and around the world who face severe communication challenges, this line of work carries both promise and caution.