Challenges in designing a brain-machine search interface

Abstract

While search engines have reshaped how human beings learn and think, the interaction paradigm of search has remained relatively stable for decades. With the development of neural science and biomedical engineering, it is possible to build a direct communication pathway between a computing device and the human brain via Brain-machine Interfaces (BMIs), which may revolutionize the search paradigm in a predictable future. Therefore, in this paper, we extensively discuss the possibility, benefits, and potential challenges in using BMI as a new interface for search, and call for more research efforts in this promising direction.