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If you were a superhero, what would your superpower be? Would you want to fly or be invisible? Or, perhaps, you’d rather have the power to read minds? Wouldn’t that be cool?

Reading minds is not as far-fetched as you might think. In fact, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a wearable device that can actually express a person’s thoughts and allow them to talk to a computer-without anyone else hearing.

The device, called AlterEgo, allows a person to control a computer and ask it questions without ever saying one word. When the individual wearing the device thinks of a word or a phrase but does not speak it, AlterEgo picks up the neuromuscular (神经肌肉) signals in that person’s jaw and face. AlterEgo sends those signals to a computer, which is programmed to associate them with specific words.

The device is fairly accurate. Inal0-person trial, AlterEgo had a92percent transcription (转录) accuracy. Researchers say that number will increase over time. “Our idea was: Could we have a computing platform that’s more internal, that combines human and machine in some ways and that feels like an internal extension of our own thoughts?” Arnav Kapur, a graduate student at the MIT Media Lab said.

So what effect could this have on communication? AlterEgo can change the way humans interact with computers, allowing us to silently connect with AI assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa, Google’s Assistant or Apple’s Siri without anyone knowing. If a person is having a conversation and wants to look up a bit of information, they don’t have to take out their digital device; instead they can just think of the question. AlterEgo will answer without interrupting the conversation. The device can also help people communicate in noisy situations, such as on a factory floor in the airport.