Humans have little difficulty recognizing one another. Each human face is truly unique, which makes seeing someone's face a great way to confirm their identity. And now we've invented machines that are able to recognize faces, which they are doing daily for countless purposes at lightning speed.

Governments, financial institutions employers, border security and police services are increasingly using facial recognition technology. 【小题1】 Systems are becoming so competent that a wanted criminal can instantly be picked out of a crowd of thousands of people. All that’s required is an image in a database to compare with the image of any number of people in a crowd.

Ordinary people, too, are using facial recognition to unlock their phones, their computers and other devices. 【小题2】 According to Apple, for example, there is only one chance in a million that a face other than your own could unlock your phone.

【小题3】 It is instantaneous, and it relieves us of the need to memorize passwords or PINS. However, a device will require a pass-code in the rare event it doesn't, for whatever reason, recognize the user's face.

Is there a downside to the rapid spread of facial recognition: concerns about the use of facial recognition. 【小题4】 The installation of more and more cameras is now a part of everyday life. This means people can be observed and recognized wherever they go. Cameras on every lamppost may make public spaces safer, but keeping law-abiding citizens under constant watch is disturbing to many.

In the age of the corona-virus and the widespread wearing of masks, facial recognition systems are having some difficulty. A mask covers many of the facial data points used by recognition software to confirm a person’s identity. 【小题5】 That could affect how dependable is as a method of identity detection and authentication.

Imagine that you are a superhero. Your superpowers are activated by a special suit. The suit communicates with your brain. It allows you to do amazing things with only a thought. By concentrating on strength, for example, you can kick a soccer ball across a field. By focusing on swift actions, you can jump to the top of a tree.

Such a connection between mind and machine may sound like a fantasy. To scientists, though, it is a very real goal. They are creating machines that let disabled monkeys walk. These machines may soon help disabled humans do the same. Unlike other bionic devices, these robotic “super suits” do not communicate with muscles and nerves. Instead, they have a direct line to the brain.

In 2005, doctors drilled a hole in the skull of Hutchinson, who had lost her right arm in an accident. Then they inserted a sensor onto her motor cortex (大脑皮层运动区). Wires connected the sensor to a receiver on her head. After she recovered, researchers plugged Hutchinson’s receiver into a cable that relayed signals from her brain to computers. Then they connected a robotic arm to the computers. The computers could interpret Hutchinson’s brain signals to move the arm.

Soon, Hutchinson, the computer, and the robotic arm became a team. Hutchinson was even able to lift her hand and drink from a cup. “She smiled when she put down that drink—that’s everything.” says Donoghue, a brain scientist.

Today other scientists are building on that success. One of those scientists is Dr. Miguel Nicolelis, who designed a whole-body bionic equipment. In 2014, a disabled former athlete kicked the first ball of the World Cup Games wearing one of Miguel’s full-body exoskeletons.

The exoskeleton was connected to brain signal sensors in the man’s cap. By thinking about kicking, he sent signals to a computer on his back. The computer then translated the signal into an exoskeleton-aided kick. Such designs may become common as scientists keep merging mind and machine.