Recode reports Siri co-creator Tom Gruber made the comments during the TED 2017 conference today. During the event, Gruber outlined his ideas around the use of artificial intelligence to expand on human memory. As “information overload” becomes a growing problem, AI could store less-important memories that we don’t need to regularly access.
Less frequently accessed details could be relegated to your digital AI counterpart. You’d be able to store details of every person you meet, place you visit and product you own. In effect, you’d have an external hard drive for your brain, vastly expanding the storage and organisation afforded to your memories.
The concept presented by Gruber would log every event in your life, irrespective of how small or inconsequential it may seem. You could revisit any hour of any day, something Apple’s already trying to achieve with its “Memories” feature in its Photos app. Gruber’s idea goes much further though, allowing you to recover forgotten information, learning and emotion.
The system could also have applications in medical science. AI memory enhancement might end up being used as a treatment for conditions like Alzheimer’s and dementia. Since computers are already very good at storing vast amounts of data, systems could be developed to enable the retention of information in the event natural memory loss occurs.
Gruber’s keen to stress the system would be private and tied firmly to you. The AI controlling the memory stores wouldn’t be interlinked, ensuring others can’t access your personal memories. Failure to properly protect the AI could have catastrophic consequences, enabling cybercriminals to access private details by hacking into memories.
“We get to choose what is and is not recalled and retained,” Recode reports Gruber said during his talk. “It’s absolutely essential that this be kept very secure.”
The technology is still purely theoretical for now. As a senior Apple AI expert, it’s possible the company is already working towards some form of implementation of Gruber’s ideas. He described the gradual development of AI-enhanced memory as “inevitable” but admitted he can’t predict what it will look like or when it’ll arrive.
Apple isn’t the only company with employees interested in getting technology inside your head. Facebook is also working on a system that can see into the brain and monitor activity. It then uses the signals to control devices, such as a thought-to-text system that automatically types what you’re thinking. It was detailed at the company’s F8 conference earlier this month.
