经济学人科技||脑机接口是大有可为还是大有可“畏”？
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导读
感谢思维导图作者
Summer（琚儿），女，QE在职，梦想能仗翻译/音乐 /健康走天涯
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听力|精读|翻译|词组
A scent of Musk
马斯克的AI+人类
英文部分选自经济学人190720science and technology版块
Brain-machine interfaces
脑机接口
A scent of Musk
马斯克的嗅觉（AI+人类）
Elon Musk wants to link brains directly to machines
伊隆·马斯克意欲将人类大脑与机器直联
ELON MUSK, perhaps the world’s most famous entrepreneur, is sometimes referred to as “the Trump of technology”—not for political reasons, but because of his habit of making, at short notice, spectacular pronouncements that stretch the bounds of credibility. On July 16th he was at it again, unveiling a new type of brain-machine interface (BMI). If human beings do not enter a symbiosis with artificial intelligence (AI), he declared, they are sure to be left behind. And he, the announcement implied, was going to be the man who stopped that happening.
伊隆·马斯克，或许是当今世上最有名的企业家，有时人们会将他称作“科技界的特朗普”。这么称呼和政治无关，而是他常常毫无征兆地抛出惊人言论，在亦真亦假的边缘游走。七月十六号他又搞出了一个大新闻，他向人们展示了一种新型的人机交互接口---（BMI）。马斯克宣称人类若不能与人工智能（AI）合作共生，最终只能被淘汰。他同时暗示，他将成为阻止人类灭亡的救世主。
Connecting brains directly to machines is a long-standing aspiration. And it is already happening, albeit in a crude way. In deep-brain stimulation, for example, neurosurgeons implant a few electrodes into a patient’s brain in order to treat Parkinson’s disease. Utah arrays, collections of 100 conductive silicon needles, are now employed experimentally to record brain waves. A team at the University of Washington has built a “brain-to-brain network” that allows people to play games with each other using just their thoughts. And researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, have captured neural signals from people as they talk, and have then turned that information, via a computer, into intelligible speech.
长久以来，人类都渴望把大脑与机器直接相连。尽管还处于初级阶段，但是这一愿望正逐渐走向现实。比如深部脑刺激疗法，就是将少量电极植入患者大脑来治疗帕金森症。再比如犹他阵列，一个由100个硅传导针组合而成的方阵，现在已经被用于试验中记录脑电波。华盛顿大学的一个团队建立了一个“脑联网络”，利用这个网络，人们可以通过意念玩游戏。加利福尼亚大学旧金山分校的研究人员能够捕捉到人们谈话时的神经信号，继而在电脑上把该信号传递的信息转化为人类可以理解的语言。
As with all things Musk-related, Neuralink is much more ambitious. The firm does not just want to develop a better BMI. Its aim is to create a “neural lace”, a mesh of ultra-thin electrodes that capture as much information from the brain as possible. Unsurprisingly, hurdles abound. The electrodes needed to do this must be flexible, so that they do not damage brain tissue and will also last for a long time. They have to number at least in the thousands, to provide sufficient bandwidth. And to make the implantation of so many electrodes safe, painless and effective, the process has to be automated, much like LASIK surgery, which uses lasers to correct eyesight.
就像伊隆·马斯克涉足的所有项目一样，领神（Neuralink）雄心勃勃。该公司并不满足于仅仅开发一个更好的人机交互接口（BMI），它的目标是研制出一条“神经元丝带”，也就是一个由超薄电极构成的丝网，能够尽可能的收集来自大脑的信息。可以预见，前路障碍重重。制作神经带使用的电极必须足够柔韧，才不会损害脑组织，并且能持久耐用。同时这些电极数量必须以千计才能提供足够的带宽。要想安全、无痛、有效的植入如此大规模的电极，植入过程必须是自动化的，其过程与LASIK手术（一种激光矫视手术）十分相似。
Neuralink does indeed seem to have made progress towards these goals. Its presentation, at the California Academy of Sciences, in San Francisco, included videos of a neurosurgical robot that is best described as a sewing machine. This robot grabs “threads” (films, containing electrodes, that measure less than a quarter of the diameter of a human hair), and shoots them deep into the brain through a hole in the skull. It is capable of inserting six threads, each carrying 32 electrodes, per minute. The firm has also designed a chip that can handle signals from as many as 3,072 electrodes—ten times more than the best current systems—and transmit them wirelessly.
领神（Neuralink）在这些方面的研发似乎也确实取得了进展。在旧金山加利福尼亚科学院的发布会上，领神（NeuralLink）展示了一部神经外科手术机器人的视频，这个机器人更像是一个缝纫机。机器人抓住“线”（包含电极的薄膜带，经测量不到人类头发直径的四分之一），然后通过头骨上的一个洞将“线”射入大脑深处。它能够每分钟插入六根“线”，每根“线”带有32个电极。该公司还设计了一种可以处理多达3072个电极所发信号的芯片，处理能力是当前最佳系统的十倍，并且能将信号以无线形式传播出去。
The real magic, however, kicks in only when the output is analysed—which happens in real time. Looked at superficially, neurons in the brain seem to fire at random. Software can, though, detect patterns when the individual those neurons are in does certain things. Stick enough electrodes into someone’s motor cortex, for instance, and it is possible to record what happens in the brain when he types on a keyboard or moves a mouse around. Those data can then be used to control a computer directly. Conversely, the electrodes can be employed to stimulate neurons, perhaps to give the person in question the feeling of touching something.
但是真正的神奇之处在于实时分析电极的输出信号。表面来看，大脑内部的神经冲动似乎是随机的，但是电脑软件可以侦测出受试者完成某一类特定动作时神经元所产生神经冲动的模式。举例来说，把足够数量的电极接入某人的运动神经中枢，就有可能记录下他用键盘输入字符或使用鼠标时大脑的活动情况。这些记录的数据可以直接用于控制电脑。反过来，电极也可以用来刺激神经元，比如让受试对象产生触碰感。
Neuralink has already tested its system successfully on rats and monkeys. These were, it says, able to move cursors on screens with it. The firm now hopes to work with human volunteers, perhaps as early as next year should America’s Food and Drug Administration play along.
领神（Neuralink）已经在老鼠和猴子体内成功测试了它的系统，并且声称受试对象可以通过该系统来移动屏幕上的光标。目前，该公司希望尽早与人类志愿者合作，如果能获得美国食品药品监督局放行，预计最早可以于明年开展试验。
The first goal is to use the technology to help people overcome such ailments as blindness and paralysis. Neuralink is, however, clearly aiming for a bigger market than this. It has also designed a small device that would sit behind someone’s ear, picking up signals from the implanted chip and passing them on as appropriate. In a few years, using a brain implant to control your devices may be as de rigueur among San Francisco’s techno-chics as wearing wireless earbuds is today. Ultimately, Mr Musk predicts, neural lace will allow humans to merge with AI systems, thus enabling the species to survive.
首要目标是利用这一技术攻克失明和瘫痪之类的疾病。但领神公司的市场野心显然不止于此。该公司还设计了一种可以安装在耳后的小型装置，这一装置从植入大脑的芯片中接收信号，再将信号视情况进行传输。不出几年，利用大脑内植芯片来控制各自的设备就会和如今戴无线耳机一样成为旧金山技术潮人们的“标配”。马斯克先生预言称，神经丝网将使人类与AI系统水乳交融，从而使人类这个物种得以延续。
注：
1. De rigueur: 必需品（常用于时尚界等潮流领域，由法语借来）
2. Techno-chic: chic（音sheek）一词没有对应的中文翻译，但一般常见于时尚圈中，可大致译为“有型、有范”；前有形容词修饰时与style类似，不过此类词汇均为表示某一款型的专有名词，chic本身常见单独使用。此处具体该如何翻译，供大家讨论。
Though, as this announcement shows, Mr Musk does have a habit of presenting himself as the saviour of the human race (his desire to settle Mars seems motivated partly by fear of what might, in the future, happen to Earth), the idea that some machines at least will come under the direct control of human brains seems plausible. The biggest obstruction to this happening will probably not be writing the software needed to interpret brainwaves, but rather persuading people that the necessary surgery, whether by sewing machine or otherwise, is actually a good idea.
虽然马斯克先生这次发表的言论表明他确实有自诩为全人类救世主的习惯（他之所以渴望在火星定居，似乎部分是因为害怕地球可能遭遇的未来）。但他所传达的至少有一部分机器可以由人脑直接控制的想法也确有可行之处。实现这一预想面临的最大困难也许不是编写解读脑波的软件，而是说服人们， 接受这一必需的手术（不论是通过编织机器或者其他手段）是个好主意。
翻译组：
Lee ，爱骑行的妇女之友，Timberland
Nikolai，子承父业，蛋糕厂员工，AKB49
校核组：
Rachel，学理工科，爱跳芭蕾，热爱文艺的非典型翻译
Alex，男，工科研究生，文学与科学爱好者，经济学人忠实读者
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观点|评论|思考
本次观点由Pippy独立完成
Piggy，爱吃鱼，爱跳舞，爱睡回笼觉的小能猫，NUS食品系
自2017年成立以来一直十分低调的Neuralink公司，时隔两年终于发布了一系列重大进展。
一句话概括：Neuralink开发的新型脑机接口系统，包括了超细柔性线（4-7微米）、能自动高速插线入脑的“神经外科机器人“、和能直接读取大脑信号的USB-C接口（未来目标是无线信号传输），并在动物实验中取得了成功。
马斯克在发表会上积极地表示，最快在2020年公司就能开始人体实验（届时将在人类志愿者头上钻孔植入电极）。他声称，这项技术的突破，将在短期内造福各肢体残障病患，帮助他们直接用思想来控制机械假肢，或操作手机电脑。而公司的最终愿景，则是人机合一，实现全民“超级人类”的升级，借此来对抗来势汹汹（并迟早要战胜人类）的人工智能。
Fig 1. The proposed future technology Neuralink intends to make, a module that sits outside the head and wirelessly receives information from threads embedded in the brain.
听起来实在令人热血沸腾。在这个设想的世界中，人们将可以通过心灵感应彼此（以及与机器）交流，或者拥有超人的能力（比如视力或听力），以及学习将不再需要死背硬记，数秒内便能直接下载整座图书馆内容入脑。
于是，崇尚“不学习万岁“的本学渣，立刻兴致勃勃地去翻了Neuralink发表的白皮书查看技术细节。这一读，却冒出了许多疑惑。
实验数据中呈现的各种技术局限性，在发布会上并未提及。比如说号称“极细极软绝不伤脑”的导线，其生物相容性及稳定性仍是未知，那么若插入人脑后崩坏断裂或引发炎症，难道要再扒拉脑子拔线？而号称“高速插线小能手”的机器人，在实验中还需要人工手动调整精准度，真正的插线速度仅是声称最高速的15%左右。另外，宣传海报中能像时尚单品一样挂在耳后的无线传输系统，也还未成功实行，实验室的毛耗子不得不顶个铁坨四处溜达，想来如果是直接应用到人体，实在说不上美观。
Fig 2. Packaged sensor device chronically implanted in a rat (Musk, 2009)
不可否认，马斯克是个才华横溢的创业者，手上数间公司成功地横跨了网络支付（X.com）、火箭（SpaceX）、电动汽车（Telsa）、太阳能（SolarCity）等各个领域。但作为一个长期泡实验室并十分怂包（划掉）谨慎的科研狗，对于他描绘的“革命性科技即将改变世界”的完美蓝图，仍保持着中立的吃瓜态度。
说到“改变世界的传奇科技创业者”，便不得不提到另一个人：伊丽莎白·福尔摩斯（Elizabeth Anne Holmes）（此处推荐纪录片The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley）。伊丽莎白19岁从史丹福辍学创业，在10年间将自己的血液检测公司Theranos推到了90亿美元的估价，号称研发出了颠覆血检行业的革命性技术。她自己亦拥有超过80项专利，被《福布斯》杂志称为世界上最年轻的女亿万富翁，是硅谷传奇的“女版乔布斯“。但在2016年，Theranos却被曝核心技术作假，公司被调查关闭，而伊丽莎白被指控“大规模欺诈”，身价清零，并可能面临长达20年的刑期。
当然，我无意暗示Neuralink的项目是个无法实现的骗局。相反，身为科研狗，我深信科技会给人类带来福利，也坚信像马斯克这样具有远见与执行力的领导人，是推动尖端技术发展所不可或缺的关键力量。但同时，我亦知道，科研十分忌讳急功近利，任何一项产品或技术，由“实验室出成果”到“可以安全广泛地进行人体应用”，都需要大量的科研人员进行长年的试错调整，才可能在海量的失败与废弃数据中，摸索出一条可行的道路。而创业者（特别是非科技出身创业者），往往在宣传时重激情而轻事实，满脑子都是革命、颠覆、改变世界，却对现有的技术局限性视而不见。商业追求与科技发展，一直是相互依存又相互冲突的存在，如何在二者中取得平衡，是创业者必须小心拿捏的关键点。
到底需要多久才能达到真正的技术成熟，恐怕只有这个领域的专家们才能真正说上一二。但根据现有数据，我对于马斯克口中“人人插线，人人升级”的“超级人类时代”蓝图，仍持保守态度。毕竟作为普通小市民的我们，仅仅为了提高生活便利性或娱乐性，就在自个儿脑壳上开个真正的脑洞，听起来似乎不是个特别吸引人的主意。
那么问题来了，如果有这么个“开脑洞升级超级人类”的机会摆在你面前，你会愿意接受它吗？
Reference
Musk E. An integrated brain-machine interface platform with thousands of channels. bioRxiv. 2019 Jan 1:703801.
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