How Brain-Computer Interface Technology is Reshaping Human Communication

　　With the development of artificial intelligence technology, we are constantly breaking down the boundaries between machines and humans. The development of brain-computer interface technology is not only a technological breakthrough, but also a profound challenge to human language, individual self-perception, society and ethics. We need to find new ways of understanding this revolution to ensure that technological developments contribute to the overall well-being of humanity.

　　Before the advent of brain-computer interface technology, humans mainly relied on language to communicate and interact. Language is not only a tool for us to understand each other, nature and the world, but also an important means for us to understand ourselves. However, once we enter the era of brain-computer interfaces, with the development of technology, the proportion of verbal communication will gradually decrease, or even reverse—brain-computer interface devices can directly detect and transmit our thoughts and emotions through neuronal activity in the cerebral cortex, and input them into another brain in the form of digital signals. These signals convey emotional and sensory experiences such as joys and sorrows, pleasures and desires in the form of bioelectricity and physical electricity, rather than relying on verbal expression. So, does this mean that brain-computer interface technology has revolutionized the way we communicate?

　　The black box of subjectivity

　　With the rapid development of brain-computer interface technology, we are increasingly exploring how the brain works, capturing patterns of neural activity associated with specific desires and emotions. However, even with the aid of these advanced technologies, the brain retains a certain degree of mystery. This mystery stems from the limitations of technology itself, but also from the complex nature of human consciousness.

　　When exploring how technology is reshaping the boundaries of human communication, we must pay attention to its impact on the "core black box" of the individual's heart. The so-called "core black box" refers to those parts of the brain that are difficult to fully reveal or understand even in the age of highly developed brain-computer interfaces, and they form the cornerstone of our unique personality.

　　This inviolable inner space is particularly important in the era of brain-computer interface. It is not only a fundamental need for individual subjectivity, but also a key concept for understanding subjectivity. It reminds us that no matter how technological progress may be, there is always a part of the inner world of humanity that belongs to us and cannot be fully grasped or predicted by external forces. This realization prompts us to re-examine our relationship with technology and how to maintain our subjectivity and individual uniqueness in an ever-evolving technological environment.

　　In the era of brain-computer interfaces, there is no doubt about the existence of subjectivity. However, with the change of the way of communication, the definition and connotation of subjectivity will also change. When we try to break free from the shackles of technology, can we truly regain that original self that has not been affected by technology? This involves a central question: no matter how technology develops, our brains as physiological entities still maintain some form of "subjectivity". But this subjectivity, preserved through technology, is very different from the self we now understand. Subjectivity is a complex concept, it can be natural, authentic, historical, or it can be a product of social interaction. However, from the perspective of linguistic narrative, subjectivity is more of a reality constructed through language. Taking the situation in "The Three-Body Problem" as an example, the key to human beings being able to defeat the three-body civilization is that we have a black box of subjectivity. The black box is able to confront transparent sexual violence, and still uses complex linguistic symbols for narrative and thinking. Obviously, language is not only a tool for us to communicate, but also an important guarantee for the construction and maintenance of individual subjectivity and privacy. In other words, the "I am who we are" in the three-body civilization embodies a completely transparent way of communication, without lies and privacy. On the other hand, human beings have an opaque information body woven by language, and we use this information body to hide lies, so as to win the confrontation with the Trisolarans.

　　With the advancement of brain-computer interface technology, we may be approaching a situation where communication is barrier-free. However, this seamless connection also comes with the risk that our brains could be injected with foreign thoughts or information at any moment, which are often mistaken for our own opinions. This situation underscores a deep concern: if our thoughts and opinions are no longer purely our own, then we have lost our true subjectivity? The latest installment in the Avatar series depicts a way of connecting through the sacred tree, which connects all the animals and humans on the planet. Through the sacred tree, they enter a state of intoxication, able to directly perceive the thoughts of the whale Tukun and the pain it is experiencing. Similarly, when people connect through brain-computer interfaces, they also enter a state of delirium or drunkenness, which may weaken the rational space for us to use language, but it can stimulate a state of mutual understanding. However, just as the Avatar can break away from the sacred tree, the psychic state of the connected brain is not completely irreversible, and people are still able to recover from this state of intoxication by disconnecting themselves from the machine with self-awareness.

　　It can be seen that although brain-computer interface technology may make communication more transparent, human subjectivity will still be preserved in the era of brain-computer interface. And language, as the basis of human communication, will not disappear. Because if language is lost, human beings may lose their individual uniqueness and privacy, and fall into "transparency fear".

　　How can brain-computer communicate?

　　The recently launched GPT-4o is not only fast in response, but also rigorous in thinking, and when communicating with it, we basically don't feel that it is a robot. This communicability makes us think about the mechanism behind the generation of linguistic symbols through computing power and huge parameters. How different is this mechanism from the production mechanism of human language?

　　At first, structuralist linguistics provided us with a basic understanding of language generation. However, with the introduction of Chomsky's theory of transformational generative grammar, our understanding has been further deepened. Chomsky argues that there is an inherent system of rules in the human brain that allows different languages to communicate with each other through regular transformations. This concept not only revolutionized our understanding of language, but also provided important theoretical support for the development of early machine translation technology. By simulating these internal rules, machine translation aims to break down the boundaries between different languages and enable cross-language communication and understanding. (Produced by the "Thought Workshop" of the social science newspaper, the full text can be found in the social science newspaper and its official website)