Read my mind

What did you think about when you woke up this morning?

Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US have created a way for AI to read the thoughts in your head. Currently you have to wear a headset, though in the future this is likely to evolve so that a device nearby (such as your phone) may be sufficient.

The benefits of this type of technology are huge. Voice-activated devices are already commonplace with incredible potential to support everyday tasks and this new technology would mean the user would not even have to speak  – they could just say the words in their head “phone mum” and the call would be initiated by their smartphone.

This may sound scary and far-fetched, and perhaps it will never be fully realised, but people are working to develop this type of technology. So maybe we could reach a point in our lifetime when computers can read some of our thoughts.

This raises a few questions: How would you feel if a device was reading your thoughts? Or, more importantly, how would you feel if other people were able to see what you are thinking?

Undoubtedly, no one would like this. We consider that our thoughts are private property; they reveal what is going on in our hearts. How would your world be different if this was made public? What thoughts would you need to modify if you knew everyone was reading them? How would you cope with the shame?

What is particularly interesting about this scenario is how social situations would change if people knew what you were thinking as you spoke to them – an unkind thought, a lustful desire, a longing for something you don’t have, or a lack of love for that person.

The Bible tells us that God knows our every thought (Psalm 139:1-3); he sees all we think as well as all we do, and one day he will hold us to account. If this is so, then what we really need is a Saviour; we need Jesus to take our place before God, so that no matter what we have set our minds on during our lifetime, if we ask Jesus to pay the price for our evil thoughts, he will be counted guilty instead of us, swapping his perfect life and thoughts for our sinful ones.

Written by Tom Warburton, a member of Christ Church Haywards Heath, an Affinity church