The head of the gaming platform Steam, Gabe Newell, gave an interview on the topic of “brain-computer interfaces” (BCI). There, he talked about what they are supposed to accomplish – and it sounds suspiciously similar to known science fiction scenarios like Shadowrun.
Gabe Newell speaks in the interview with the New Zealand news site 1 NEWS about the gaming technologies of the future, specifically about brain-computer interfaces.
On the subject, Newell already stated in March 2020 that we “are much closer to the Matrix” than people might realize.
In the new interview, Newell explains what exactly such a thing could look like. He talks about how the experiences with these BCIs, the brain-computer interfaces, will be much better than what players can currently perceive through their “meat peripherals”.
“The real world will appear flat, colorless, and blurry”
This is what Newell says: According to Newell, the games of the future can directly engage the senses, ensuring a better experience. He even claims that the real world will fade in comparison:
You are used to perceiving the world through your eyes. But eyes were created by this miser who doesn’t care about failure rates and reproduction rights. When something is broken, there is no way to effectively repair it. This makes total sense from an evolutionary standpoint, but it does not reflect any consumer interests.
For the visual experience, the visual accuracy that we can create, the real world will no longer be the benchmark by which we measure for the best possible outcome. The real world will look flat, colorless, and blurry compared to the experiences that can be generated directly in people’s brains.
How is it supposed to work? The technology is supposed to be able to read how the player feels. If they are excited, surprised, sad, bored, or distracted, the game could react directly to that.
If the game registers boredom in the player’s brain, it could increase the difficulty level.
“Indistinguishable from science fiction”
It continues like this: According to Newell, many discussions on the topic are indistinguishable from science fiction. And reading emotions seems to be just the beginning: “Where it gets strange is when a BCI becomes editable, who you are.”
In the distant future, it should be possible to influence feelings and the brain, perhaps via an app.
One of the early applications I expect is improved sleep. Sleep will be an app that you use and say: ‘Oh, I need this much sleep. I need this much REM.’
Even pain outside of one’s physical body could be felt. Newell says, “You could make people think that something hurts them by hurting their tool, which is itself a complicated issue.”
What does this have to do with Shadowrun? In the world of Shadowrun, people have the “book in their head,” a brain-computer interface.
Shadowrun takes place in a dystopian future where humans and technology have merged significantly. There are SimSense chips and “BTLs” (short for “Better Than Life”) there.
These are simulations that allow for more intense experiences than would be possible with a human body alone.
For such an experience, the user must, for example, connect through a socket in their head with a “deck” that can play the corresponding chips. With the BTLS that are illegally modified and enhanced, the intensity of the experience can even lead to death.
Newell’s vision of BCIs is not quite as dystopian as in Shadowrun. Valve is currently focusing on “non-invasive” technology such as headsets that read brainwaves without needing to drill for damage.
However, it will still take some time until there are user devices, and even then, everyone will have to decide for themselves whether they want to use something like that.
Valve is currently working on open-source software for BCIs, which developers should start using to read brain signals correctly. According to Newell, every developer should start working with BCIs by 2022.
