How Human Brains Could Be Hacked

Like computers, human brains may be vulnerable to hackers. Technology is already allowing scientists to read people’s thoughts and even plant new ones in the brain.

The latest episode of the Science Channel’s Through the Wormhole,hosted by Morgan Freeman, explores the potential – and dangers – ofhacking the mind. The episode premieres tonight (July 3) at 10 p.m. ET.

“We live a world of data,” Freeman says in the show. “One day soon, our innermost thoughts may no longer be our own.”

Mind reading

Reading people’s minds doesn’t always require technology. New York psychologist Marc Salem can decipher a person’s thoughts using the tiny physical cues in a person’s body language. “A scratch of the nose can mean you’re lying, or it can mean that your nose itches,” Salem told LiveScience. When he’s trying to read someone’s mind, he looks for what he calls a “packet of signals” that tells him what a gesture means.

The show follows Salem as he guesses the cards of professional poker players – a seemingly impossible feat. To do it, Salem relies on context. “I’m able to pick up their nonverbal inflections and cues,” he said. “The more I have a context for them, the more I can pick them up.”

Of course, technology can give scientists even more direct access to the human brain. Inventor and neurotechnologist Philip Low is developing a portable brain monitor called iBrain that can detect the brain’s electrical activity from the surface of the scalp, Freeman explains. People with Lou Gehrig’s disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) or other forms of paralysis still have healthy brain activity. Using the iBrain, they could use thoughts to control a virtual hand on a computer screen.