Artificial intelligence (AI) is a scientific field and a technology that is supported by multiple techniques--such as machine learning, reasoning, knowledge representation, and optimization--and has applications in almost every aspect of everyday life. We use some form of AI when we swipe a credit card, search the Web, take a picture with our cameras, give vocal commands to our phone or other device, and interact with many apps and social media platforms. Companies of every size and business model, all over the world, are adopting AI solutions to optimize their operations, create new services and work modalities, and help their professionals to make more informed and better decisions. There is no doubt that AI is a powerful technology that has already imprinted itself positively on our ways of living and will continue to do so for years to come. At the same time, the transformations it brings to our personal and professional lives are often significant, fast, and not always transparent or easily foreseen. This raises questions and concerns about the impact of AI on our society. AI systems must be designed to be aware of, and to follow, important human values so that the technology can help us make better, wiser decisions. AI often needs a lot of data, so questions about data privacy, storage, sharing, and governance are central for this technology. Some regions of the world, such as Europe, have specific regulations to state fundamental rights for the data subject--the human releasing personal data to an AI system that can then use it to make decisions affecting that person's life.15

Evolution – according to the Dictionary – is "the process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the earth." Other sources mention also natural selection and adaptation. Now, we are approaching a new stage in our development as species. For the first time in history, we are about to partake in a manmade evolution. We are about to become enhanced courtesy of new technologies such as Brain-Computer Interface (BCI), artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and VR (virtual reality) and yes, genomics.

Neurotechnologies are based on the principles of the human nervous system and modeled on the human brain. NeuroTech can help researchers understand brain function and disfunction, and can help doctors treat neurological disorders. Some NeuroTech applications are focused on enhancing cognitive performance, improving sleep, and improving brain health for Longevity. Advances in AI could revolutionize NeuroTech over the next decade. NeuroTech has unprecedented prospects for growth both in terms of technology and as an industry.

EMILY BORGHARD has a computer inside her skull, but you wouldn't know it to look at her. A small bump behind her left ear, the only external evidence of her implant, is partially covered by a tuft of hair that's still growing in from the last time she had the batteries changed. Before Borghard received a brain implant, she was having as many as 400 "spikes" of seizure-like activity a day, along with multiple seizures. This unrelenting storm of abnormal neural activity turned her teenage years into a semiconscious nightmare. She couldn't drive a car, attend classes or be left alone for more than half an hour.

Today I'm announcing a 100M commitment to Kernel in an effort to enhance human intelligence and reimagine our future. Unlocking our brain is the most significant and consequential opportunity in history -- and it's time sensitive. We're starting to identify the mechanisms underlying neural code and make them programmable. Our biology and genetics have become increasingly programmable; our neural code is next in line. Programming our neural code will enable us to author ourselves and our existence in ways that were previously unimaginable. I started Kernel in 2016 (read more at the Washington Post) to build the world's first neural prosthetic for human intelligence enhancement.