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   Apple wants to connect thoughts to iPhone control  and there's a very good   
   reason for it   
      
   Date:   
   Thu, 15 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   Apples move into brain-computer interfaces could be a boon for those with   
   disabilities.   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   Our smartphones and other devices are key to so many personal and    
   professional tasks throughout the day. Using these devices can be difficult    
   or outright impossible for those with ALS and other conditions. Apple thinks   
   it has a possible solution: thinking. Specifically, a brain-computer    
   interface (BCI) built with Australian neurotech startup Synchron that could   
   provide hands-free, thought-controlled versions of the operating systems for   
   iPhones, iPads, and the Vision Pro headset.    
      
   A brain implant for controlling your phone may seem extreme, but it could be   
   the key for those with severe spinal cord injuries or related injuries to   
   engage with the world. Apple will support Switch Control for those with the   
   implant embedded near the brains motor cortex. The implant picks up the    
   brains electrical signals when a person thinks about moving. It translates   
   that electrical activity and feeds it to Apple's Switch Control software,   
   becoming digital actions like selecting icons on a screen or navigating a   
   virtual environment.   
      
   Brain implants, AI voices    
      
   Of course, it's still early days for the system. It can be slow compared to   
   tapping, and it will take time for developers to build better BCI tools. But   
   speed isnt the point right now. The point is that people could use the brain   
   implant and an iPhone to interact with a world they were otherwise locked out   
   of.    
      
   The possibilities are even greater when looking at how it might mesh with   
   AI-generated personal voice clones. Apple's Personal Voice feature lets users   
   record a sample of their own speech so that, if they lose their ability to   
   speak, they can generate synthetic speech that still sounds like them. Its    
   not quite indistinguishable from the real thing, but its close, and much more   
   human than the robotic imitation familiar from old movies and TV shows.    
      
   Right now, those voices are triggered by touch, eye tracking, or other   
   assistive tech. But with BCI integration, those same people could think their   
   voice into existence. They could speak just by intending to speak, and the   
   system would do the rest. Imagine someone with ALS not only navigating their   
   iPhone with their thoughts but also speaking again through the same device by   
   "typing" statements for their synthetic voice clone to say.    
      
   While it's incredible that a brain implant can let someone control a computer   
   with their mind, AI could take it to another level. It wouldn't just help   
   people use tech, but also to be themselves in a digital world.   
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/computing/artificial-intelligence/apple-wants-to-con   
   nect-thoughts-to-iphone-control-and-theres-a-very-good-reason-for-it   
      
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