A chip that converts thought into speech has been produced

NEWS CENTER

Created: August 25, 2025 17:49

In the study, tests on four severely paralyzed volunteers showed that the system achieved a 74% accuracy rate in deciphering "inner speech" and converting it into audio. This represents a revolutionary advancement in enabling people with speech or motor loss to communicate.

"If just thinking about speaking were enough, it could make people communicate much easier and faster," said neuroscientist Benyamin Meschede-Krasa of Stanford University, according to Science Alert.

FOLLOWING THE VOICE IN THE BRAIN

Previous BCI systems analyzed the brain signals produced by paralyzed individuals as they attempted to speak or write. But this new technology focuses directly on the brain signals that generate inner speech.

The implant measures neural activity in the motor cortex region of the brain and can distinguish phonemes, the smallest units of speech. These phonemes are then converted into words and sentences using machine learning .

The researchers found that even when the volunteers simply imagined the words, distinctive signal patterns formed in their brains. This allowed the system to recognize more than 125,000 words from their inner speech.

PRIVACY ISSUE ON THE AGENDA

While the technology offers promise, it also raises some concerns. The involuntary decoding of thoughts within the brain raises privacy concerns. Researchers note that the system can only be activated by uttering a special "password." In trials, this method has achieved 98 percent success.

RETURN OF THE SPEECH

"This work provides real hope that speech BCIs may one day restore everyday, natural, fluent communication," said Stanford University neuroscientist Frank Willett.

Although 100 percent accuracy is not yet achieved, experts believe that the system will advance rapidly in the coming years with more advanced implant technologies and the mapping of larger areas of the brain.