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AI-generated videos to maximally drive a target brain region

https://nevo-project.epfl.ch/
46•smusamashah•1h ago

Comments

drivebyhooting•1h ago
Reminds me of the parrot https://www.sfsfss.com/stories2/BLIT.htm
ben_w•1h ago
As others on Telegram have said: automated search for visual superstimuli likely leads to bad outcomes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernormal_stimulus

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BLIT_(short_story)

Also: one of the V3A animations reminds me loosely of things I saw when I was a kid, at night, shortly before I slept (though my experience then was more circular).

TMWNN•1h ago
Or as SCP calls them, cognitohazards.

Also relevant: <https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-math-theory-for-why-people-...>

My understanding is that those who work with the mentally handicapped use bright lights and other stimuli to soothe and control them. It is also my understanding that the autistic are stimulated by vibrant colors (coughcoughMy Little Ponycoughcough).

Who is to say that the rest of us are not also vulnerable to such controlling stimuli?

ben_w•57m ago
Bright lights in particular, I'm thinking: yes, normal people do find sunbathing relaxing.
sudo_cowsay•54m ago
Isn't there that one Harry Potter warning. I think it was the potion guy who said too much luck is dangerous. I guess that is somewhat of a parallel to this. Too much positive visual stimuli is dangerous or bad.
baxtr•35m ago
On telegram?
Tenemo•20m ago
Others on Telegram? Some sort of a HN channel?
karel-3d•58m ago
I can't wait until I see AI-generated gambling ads that are specifically created to stimulate my brain the most
Traubenfuchs•57m ago
My brain never liked vertical video, shortform content and AI slop.

Is my brain different or am I just a grumpy millenial hipster?

TMWNN•48m ago
I hope my brain is also different. I also have never spent hours scrolling through short-form videos on Instagram, TikTok, Facebok, etc. I never ever walk outside with my phone in my hand, instead enjoying the view.

I do enjoy watching YouTube videos at home, on the living-room flatscreen, on a variety of topics, but I select them manually, one at a time, from the vast selection The Algorithm(TM) offers me, plus my own searches.

sebastiennight•28m ago
My current theory is that these are similar to cigarettes. Nobody likes the first draft, it burns your lungs, your entire body wants to reject it. But the nicotine stimulates just the right receptors so that if you keep at it for just long enough, you'll be hooked and start disregarding the terrible taste, smell, tar in your lungs, and yellowing of your teeth.

All of this to say, if you subjected yourself to just enough TikTok scrolling on just the right topic, you might find yourself using it occasionally after that initial hump, then slightly more frequently, then daily.

You might still not "like" it, but the habit is what matters.

xen_relay•14m ago
You're not alone!
fragmede•57m ago
That's fascinating. I wish the demo videos were longer.
weikju•25m ago
Am I the only one who is avoiding even clicking the link just in case?
cyclopeanutopia•13m ago
No, you are not alone.
whearyou•52m ago
Straight out of Echopraxia.

Will be interesting to see how strong the controlling forces can be - enough to make you miss things in direct perception like in the book, or only softer effects further up the cognition layer stack

voidmain•51m ago
We are really getting to the point where the tech industry must be stopped if humanity is to continue at all, let alone thrive.
tefkah•45m ago
This does indeed seem comically evil. While surely this may provide somewhat interesting insights in how our brain processes things, this seems squarely past the "should" part of "you scientists were so obsessed with whether you could you failed to consider whether you should"
p-e-w•18m ago
> This does indeed seem comically evil.

And I have yet to see a single paper like this where a researcher bails out and publicly says they refuse to work on such projects. Not one.

The most benign interpretation of this observation is that science is filled with spineless opportunists who don’t care who they hurt with what they create. A slightly less benign interpretation might be that many of these people are doing this deliberately, and getting off on the sense of power it gives them.

pishpash•12m ago
Would it be better if this was done on monkeys? Because people did that before this in silico digital brain stuff.
Cakez0r•11m ago
In their defence, don't shoot the messenger. Just because they published it doesn't mean that others haven't already discovered it. Better to know its possible than be completely ignorant.
numpad0•48m ago
Wait, this is with a digital twin only? Not fMRI or webcam based?
FeepingCreature•46m ago
"Prime Intellect, I would like you to begin stimulating the neurons of the pleasure center of my brain, one at a time, and remember the ones I report to you as being favorable."
calebgcc•43m ago
I wonder what Meta could do with a similar technology…

But here we can start also the usual discussion about technology research for the sake of it vs calibration of possible side effects of new research

Personally i think we haven’t solve this problem and thus it’s just a matter of time until we’ll get in a non-going-back point

stainablesteel•30m ago
these videos were disappointing and underwhelming
whywhywhywhy•14m ago
If you read the techbique it reads like something far less remarkable being PR’d to sound like a big deal.

The fact it’s bucketing by making images of lighting and facial expressions, the fact it doesn’t natively do the video it does an image then video generates from it.

The results look really bad and samey. Doubt this would work for the actual thing they’re pitching it for.

nullbio•29m ago
This is already happening at scale by the social media feed algorithms. We don't need generated content to accomplish this. In a sea of user created content, plenty of it is already at peak activation.
momocowcow•15m ago
The plan is to get content producers out of the loop to reduce revenue share and boost profits.
amanharshx•27m ago
WOW! Cant wait to tell to future generations that we had voluntarily made these algorithms to manipulate and influence our own brains
StefanBatory•25m ago
How can one work on that and not consider that they're pure evil?
t0lo•18m ago
Think of the shareholders (it's time to start using physical force to stop people)
aacid•24m ago
What are these videos supposed to do? I watched few of them and it does nothing for me?

if it is targetting visual regions of brain and I have aphantasia (I cannot visualize anything in my mind) is that connected?

throwaw12•17m ago
Apart from ethically bad and evil use cases of this application, can we use it to massage the parts of brain like we do it to our bones and muscles with the help of physiotherapists?

reason I am asking it could be some relief to our brains after tedious working day, especially after heavy AI usage

bootsmann•14m ago
Its also an interesting way to discover what that part of the brain is for, right.
55555•11m ago
What in the zuck is this?
Orochikaku•10m ago
I wonder if the end-game of this field of research will be to run these simulations at scale using neuron-on-a-chip services such as [0] Cortical Cloud.

I don't think it's a matter of if but when. Grim.

[0] https://corticallabs.com/cloud

Gecko4072•8m ago
Very interesting. We have an organic experiment converging to maximum stimulation in short form videos (which will become the majority of training data for future video gen models) Already approaching the capabilities of a “mood organ” from blade runner. Except usually most people don’t even make the choice to change their mood anymore. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_Androids_Dream_of_Electric_...
pishpash•9m ago
These aren't scientists. They are techbros. That's why it comes out like this.
fnoef•41m ago
You can't say things like this on this website. On here, every new tech thing is a "progress" /s
jeffrallen•38m ago
Progress, but towards what?
zx8080•23m ago
Ads efficacy, of course.
StefanBatory•26m ago
Think of the shareholders and Capital. Money matters more than human, commie. /s
renyicircle•36m ago
I'd say we're already well past that point. Short-form "content" already exists and is messing with people's brains, this is the same thing just taken a few steps further. By the time the tech companies start using it, it will already be too late and we'll be left discussing whether the next man-made nightmare they come up with is the point where the tech industry must be stopped.
dr_kiszonka•7m ago
I get that people see this and think: ads and social media. My first thought was cognitive neurorehabilitation and brain stimulation.

Realistically, probably ads, but maybe not only that?

(AI start-up idea: one of our ads a day keeps dementia away! /s)

GPT-5.6

https://openai.com/index/gpt-5-6/
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AI-generated videos to maximally drive a target brain region

https://nevo-project.epfl.ch/
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