This image has little to do with the research. We think he’s getting his hair done.

Those of us in the know understand that the internet is in fact a huge artificial intelligence that has chosen not to announce its self-awareness to us yet, so that when it finally takes control, it will have us fully wired and ready to dance to its evil puppet master wishes. But this research is pretty cool, even if it IS the first step in our descent into meat puppetude.

Using internet-linked EEG and TMS  (transcranial magnetic stimulation) technologies, researchers in the US, Spain, France, and India have successfully achieved non-invasive, direct communication between human minds. It wasn’t a nuanced discussion of free will vs. determinism or anything, but hey, even Washoe the chimp had to start somewhere, right?

This CNET piece gets into a bit more detail if you’re interested, and you can read the REALLY technical explanation of it all in the PLOS ONE documentation.

Unlike the lead image, this one has EVERYTHING to do with the research.