IEEE's 125th Anniversary Media Event: 7 presentations on cutting-edge research

Are you fascinated by the prospect of transmitting power to devices wirelessly? By computers that can think like people? By the prospect of diagnosing cancer - before someone has it? By phrases like "probabilistic electronics" or, say, "transcontinental brain-machine interface"? Geek out for a couple of hours by watching the video of the IEEE 125th Anniversary Media Event. Although you do have to take a moment to register, the video is well worth it.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers brought together 7 experts to present about cutting-edge research - from pattern recognition to cancer research to brain-machine interaction to the latest in mobile computing. For a two-minute digest, take a look at Radio Worlds' article on the IEEE event. The presentations last for just over an hour and a half, with half an hour for some good questions about privacy rights & policy, engineering education and our societal perception of engineers.

As a science fiction fan and former psychology student, I was floored by the two presentations on brains and computing. Computers that might be able to model human thought - or think like humans. The ability to transmit brain waves into robotic action, allowing us to control machines as if they were merely another appendage. What will happen to the world when these technologies are common place?

Dharmendra Modha, manager of cognitive computing at IBM Almaden Research Center, closed his presentation on brain simulation with the rhetorical question, What do you think will happen when everyday computers have the processing power and capabilities of the human brain? His answer was a slide of a Homer Simpson skull containing a pea-sized brain. The audience laughed, of course, but it's a brilliant reminder that new technology does not compensate for a lack of new thinking.

The entire event, however, is evidence that people are still dreaming, thinking new thoughts and working together. And if you watch the video and have thoughts of your own, please add your comments here!