We are about to enter into
the most consequential revolution
in the history of human race.
Where we can take control of our cognitive evolution.
We're talking about technologies
that could radically alter the way we are as human beings.
What we're seeing is that
technology is becoming part of us.
Because we're linking biological brains
directly to machines.
What if we could expand your capabilities beyond
what we as humans have never had before?
There are a set of people who are going to say,
this is unnatural, this is inhuman,
we shouldn't allow this to happen.
The fact is, is that, we are transforming
into a new species,
a technological species.
You don't know what the outcome is going to be.
You don't know how it will be used.
But if we start tinkering with the brain,
we start changing it...
Are we about to fundamentally change
what it means to be human?
And if so, are we okay with that?
- Wake up. - Wake up.
- Drapes. - Drapes.
- One. - One.
- Open. - Open.
I was riding a bicycle in a charity event...
it was raining really badly,
and I was following a mail truck.
And then all of a sudden it stopped
and I didn't.
Drapes - Drapes.
- Two. - Two.
- Open. - Open.
- Head up. - Head up.
- Do it. - Head up.
- Do it. - Head up.
Things are different now.
Good morning Mr. Kochevar.
Hi, Danielle.
I'm gonna go ahead
and get you up in the chair, okay?
I'm a tetraplegic,
which means I can't move my arms or legs
and I only have feeling from my mid-chest up.
It's okay that I can't feel anything but
sometimes I wish I could.
After my injury
I lived with my parents then
when my mother and father both passed away, I moved here.
Good morning Mr. Kochevar.
Morning Yvonne.
Well hello.
How are you this morning?
I am just lovely, Bill.
In people that have paralysis,
the nerves to their muscles are still intact,
but they're cut off from the brain.
Let's get you up on your side.
So they lose the ability to voluntarily
control their movements.
Got your glasses here.
If we can understand the brain's
internal code of movement,
it would significantly assist us in
better treating a wide range of medical issues.
But we're not quite there.
Dr. Carradine, pick up at 2185.
People in my situation,
you know, they just never move again.
It's hard sometimes to think about that.
I always want to do more.
Like, I wanna move from this point
to that point without help.
I don't know, probably eat something by myself.
If it ever happens.
You know, have somebody bring me a plate of something,
and then I'll say "Okay, you can go away,
"I'm gonna eat this.
"Come back in about half an hour."
But I don't think about it a lot
because I know there's a lot of research
yet to go before that happens.
Everything we're trying to do,
everything we're trying to become,
everything we're trying to fix,
sits on the other side of the brain.
The brain is the single highest potential
area of focus we have in existence.
It is our best tool to do the things we want
to achieve in life,
it is also the biggest limiter we have.
This three pounds, is our entire universe.
Our senses, our emotions.
Love, hate, fear, jealousy,
The way we move, the way we control our body.
Our culture, our language,
Our hopes, our dreams, our aspirations
Motivation, pride, wonder.
The brain defines what we are.
But because the brain runs so efficiently
behind the scenes,
it's typically only when something goes wrong
that we appreciate the magnitude
of what's actually happening there.
I'm not really sure what's happening in my brain.
Anxiety, insomnia, paralysis.
Parkinson's is different for everybody.
Just depends on what you get.
That's a cardinal, right?
The one with that whistle, that one.
Yeah.
Anne and I have been married for 38 years.
Look, the hydrangeas, it hasn't bloomed.
I think Anne has one of the most gentle hearts on earth.
Things have gradually changed over the years.
She used to be an artist.
She was a hospice volunteer.
All that had to be left behind.
When I was diagnosed,
I think the biggest thing for me was that
I would become useless.
You know, I'll be a burden to my to my children,
and to my husband.