No Surgery, No Chips, Just Sound Waves: Sam Altman’s New Startup Claims It Can Read Human Minds Using Sound Waves

OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, who made a splash in the world of artificial intelligence by creating ChatGPT, now tries to enter into something much more futuristic, reading the human mind without being in touch with the brain. It was reported that Altman is supporting another and very secret start-up known as Merge Labs, which intends to develop a sound wave and magnetic field-based non-invasive brain-computer interface (BCI).

In contrast to Neuralink and the requirement of brain surgery to implant chips recommended by Elon Musk, Altman aims at the concept of decoding thoughts with no incision whatsoever.

Sam Altman’s Bold Vision for a Non-Invasive Brain Interface

Merge Labs is reportedly developing technology that will someday enable individuals to converse directly with AI by simply thinking. The system will not involve drilling of electrodes into the brain, but rather use ultrasound and genetic engineering, which can be used to read and transmit the activity in the brain without surgery. It is an indication of a ground-breaking breakthrough between the invasive nature of Neuralink implants and a safer, no-knife future.

The vision of Altman seems to be a perfect mix of biology and AI, which will result in a world where thoughts would interact with machines directly – the very human-AI integration.

The Science Behind Merge Labs’ Approach

Merge Labs has attracted some of the brightest scientific minds. One of them is Mikhail Shapiro, a renowned biomolecular engineer based at Caltech who has developed neural imaging using ultrasound. According to the studies conducted by Shapiro, it has been demonstrated that the neurons can react to sound waves as long as some genetic modifications are introduced to them- the scientists can study or even control the activity of the brain, even without using any wires.

The other important stakeholder is Alex Blania, the CEO of Tools for Humanity (Worldcoin), who will assist in steering the strategic and technological choices of the startup.

How Merge Labs Differs from Neuralink

While Elon Musk’s Neuralink involves surgically embedding chips into the brain, Merge Labs is expected to get the same outcome by using ultrasound and magnetic fields, which do not require risky surgeries.

Altman has already stated that he would never actually implant anything into his brain, but would instead use what he terms a read-only model – an AI with the capability to understand human thoughts, but nothing beyond that.

Funding, Secrecy, and the Future of Human-AI Connection

As reported, Merge Labs is in the process of a funding round of $250 million (Rs 2,195 crore), topped off by the venture fund of OpenAI, with Sam Altman as a co-founder. Although the information is being kept a secret, the mission of the company is obvious: to create a world in which people will be able to communicate with AI only by their minds, no chips, no wires, no surgery.