The 2025 update below is from ChatGPT Scholar, which gives detailed references of where it got information for its report.

DARPA's initial focus is on military applications, but it also fuels civilian uses. Much of this is predicated on sophisticated AI.

Some military applications

Cognitive Command & Control – Soldiers can control drone swarms and other robotic devices using only their mind.

Silent Communications Systems – "silent speech" lets soldiers communicate without vocalizing or using radios.

Enhanced Situational Awareness – Use augmented reality headsets through thought alone, controlling swarms of drones.

This has already unleashed a plethora of ethical and legal debates about "consent, targeting ethics, and the legal status of "cognitively enhanced" personnel under international humanitarian law."

Eh. Don't need any stinkin' consent.

Civilian applications

Recently, products have been appearing on social media and other media, that promote consumer-grade (vs. military-grade) neural wearables that take the form of a headset (a non-invasive wearables). The promises include boosting attention and reducing stress using EEG processing.

Mendi markets its headset (at the left) as a way to "Take control of your mental fitness with our headband's precise brain activity measurements, paving the way for a sharper, more focused you", and sells for $254.

Mendi relies on fNIRS technology instead of EEG, but it is just as effective. One buyer reports, "Mendi helped me control my emotions, and deal with anxiety, as well as significantly reduced my level of stress."