Apparently, they're developing a telepathic phone.

Of course, that's an oversimplification, a word that here means "a phrase that sounds neat". What they're actually developing, if I understand it correctly, is a device that picks up on the nerve impulses that the brain sends to the vocal cords in order to trigger speech; to paraphrase Rupert Giles, the subvocalisations will rapidly become vocalisations. I believe a similar device was used as a computer control in David Brin's novel Earth.

The world just got that little bit more sci-fi, assuming that this is real and not some sort of post-Cloverfield viral marketing gimmick for I, Robot 2.

Naturally, my first thought is "This is all going to go horribly, horribly wrong somehow." But that's my first thought about everything ever, so it requires a bit more analysis. It doesn't take long for me to realise that I often silently talk to myself; I'm doing it right now while I compose this, telling myself what to type. I'm not writing this blog entry so much as transcribing it. Transcribing it and -- here's the important part -- editing it.

Computers don't think, they don't analyse, they just do exactly what you tell them to really, really, really, really, really, really fast. How sensitive is the pick-up? How much fuzzy-logic development will it take to prevent the Audeo from turning your every whispered thought into an Aside To Audience?

(ring ring) "Who the fuck's calling at this hour oh, hi, Grandma oh god isn't she dead yet how are you?"

This is science-reality: both incredibly awesome and not nearly as user-friendly as the pictures in your head. Which it's about to describe to you. Out loud.