AI can read our minds as well as steal our jobs

This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a Panzer-driven blitzkrieg of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. Sign up here. A computer will probably be able [Bloomberg]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a Panzer-driven blitzkrieg of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - A computer will probably [be able to read your thoughts]( in the not-too-distant future. - It will probably rain on [King Charles III’s parade](. - Your [vacation car rental]( will probably cost a packet. - The probable winner in the War on Drugs? [Fentanyl](. A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste Invade “The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven,” John Milton wrote in Paradise Lost. But what if the contents of our minds became available to others to peer into? Would that be heavenly, or hellish? A team led by computational neuroscientist Alexander Huth has used noninvasive functional magnetic resonance imaging to [decode thoughts](. By tracking brain activity through the flow of oxygenated blood, they produced a model for predicting patterns associated with different word sequences — with spectacular results that Huth himself described as “kind of terrifying,” writes Faye Flam. The technology offers the possibility of restoring the voices of people rendered mute by illness or injury. But as is the case with most artificial intelligence breakthroughs, it comes with a host of ethical considerations, Faye notes. “Their advance opens prospects that are both scary and enticing: A better understanding of the workings of our brains, a new window into mental illness, and maybe a way for us to know our own minds,” she writes. “Balanced against that is the concern that one day such technology may not require an individual’s consent, allowing it to invade the last refuge of human privacy.” Bonus robot overlord reading: AI is putting tech companies [in the mood to hire again](. — Conor Sen Uneasy Lies the Head That Wears a Crown The Great British Weather is threatening to [rain on King Charles III’s parade]( on Saturday, in keeping with bank holiday traditions in ol’ Blighty. The coronation has produced a mixture of reactions, from outrage at its anachronistic forelock-tugging symbolism, to joy at a pageant that should distract the nation from its cost-of-living crisis. This week’s front cover of satirical magazine Private Eye captures the middle ground nicely: I’m agnostic about the Royal Family; but I’m with [musician Nick Cave]( about the ceremony itself: I am not a monarchist, nor am I a royalist, nor am I an ardent republican for that matter. What I am also not is so spectacularly incurious about the world and the way it works, so ideologically captured, so damn grouchy, as to refuse an invitation to what will more than likely be the most important historical event in the UK of our age. Not just the most important, but the strangest, the weirdest. But for Pankaj Mishra, “the week of the coronation [provides another disquieting lesson in how orchestrated deference to Britain’s past](serves to perpetuate its social and economic inequalities, and to postpone necessary questions about the integrity and competence of the country’s elites.” He takes some comfort from a YouGov opinion poll that showed 64% of Britons don’t care very much or at all about the coronation, and a separate survey that found only three out of 10 people in Britain regard the monarchy as “very important,” the lowest proportion on record. Nearly half of the respondents said it should be abolished — a sentiment Pankaj echoes. “His Majesty’s greatest service to his kingdom would be to abolish his pompous office,” he writes. “The expensively preposterous coronation can then be justified, in his own mind at least, as the last indulgence of its kind — a grand farewell party.” Further weekend spectacle reading: The [Kentucky DerbyÂ](takes place in Louisville, and “to feel the full power of the greatest two minutes in sport, you need a few bucks at stake and a drink in your hand.” — Aaron Brown Telltale Charts Chris Bryant has mixed news for those looking to [book a rental car for their summer vacation](: “While you may end up paying less than last year, the cost will still feel painful compared to the low levels consumers were accustomed to prior to the pandemic.” Eduardo Porter has bad news for those who argue that [attacking Mexican drug cartels would solve the US drug problem](: “Fentanyl keeps killing Americans; in 2023 more than in 2022; in 2024 more than in 2023,” he writes. “The War on Drugs has always been, at best, a pointless approach to the nation’s epidemic of substance abuse. More likely, it has exacerbated the crisis, pushing traffickers into more powerful, and lucrative, narcotics with which to lure vulnerable Americans into addiction.” Justin Fox has good news for [rent-stabilized tenants in New York City](: “The likeliest increase when the board makes its final decision in June is 3.5%,” he writes. “The inflation rate over the past 12 months in the New York metropolitan area has been 4.6%, hence my argument that this amounts to a decrease in real rent.” Further Reading Make [Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group]( a pariah in Africa. — Bobby Ghosh [America’s border crisis]( is already underway. — Bloomberg’s editorial board [Ukraine in NATO?]( The heart says yes, the head says no. — Andreas Kluth For Your Listening Pleasure Paul J. Davies on [the price of bank runs](, and Lisa Jarvis on the weight-loss drug race. — Bloomberg Opinion Podcast ICYMI [Russia is grabbing an early lead]( in the race to control the resource-rich Arctic. Formula One is seeking to unlock new riches with [China’s motor-racing star](. BMW has warned owners [not to drive 90,000 vehicles]( it’s recalling to fix faulty airbags. Britain has warmed to King Charles III, but doubts remain about [the future of the monarchy](. Kickers Switzerland wants kids to eat less chocolate and [crunch bugs instead](. Would you pay [$29 for a hot dog](? Take this [online Cambridge University test]( to discover whether you have an exceptional memory. Notes:  Please send edible locusts Toblerone and feedback to Mark Gilbert at magilbert@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Instagram](, [TikTok](, [Twitter]( and [Facebook](. Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. 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