A new AI device could be key to unlocking easier computer usage for individuals in busy environments or those who have lost access to audible speech. The new device, which is designed by Boston-based AlterEgo, is a neural interface that the company claims is less invasive than traditional brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), as it isn’t a BCI itself.
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard of AlterEgo, though. The idea for the device debuted in a 2018 MIT paper from one of the company’s co-founders, Arnav Kapur. Since then, it seems Kapur has been trying to make the device a reality, recently highlighting it in a video shared on X.
Introducing Alterego: the world’s first near-telepathic wearable that enables silent communication at the speed of thought.
Alterego makes AI an extension of the human mind.
We’ve made several breakthroughs since our work started at MIT.
We’re announcing those today. pic.twitter.com/KX5mxUIBAk
— alterego (@alterego_io) September 8, 2025
The company claims that the device itself is a “near-telepathic wearable” and that it can detect the various signals that your brain sends to your body’s speech system. This, Kapur says, will let you “type at the speed of thought” while also not feeding the thoughts you don’t intend to speak to the device. We’ve seen similar thought-to-speech devices in the past, though many of those appear to be heavily based around helping individuals with ALS and other speech-impacting situations.
Not a brain-computer interface
Perhaps the most interesting thing about this device, though, is that it isn’t a BCI. Most BCIs are implanted in the brain, where they can interface directly with your brain and the various signals that it sends. That isn’t always the case, of course, as there are BCIs that don’t require invasive surgery, such as the Synchron Switch that allows paralyzed patients to type iPhone messages.
AlterEgo, on the other hand, is a surface-level device that could reportedly achieve 92% accuracy back in 2018 just by using surface electromyography (sEMG) to read the activation of muscles in your body. The muscles that the device reads are specifically related to your body’s speech system, and we use them for both audible speaking as well as something scientists call subvocalization — the internal speech you make when reading or mouthing different words.
The device’s system then maps those movements to a text output system, which allows it to translate your thoughts to text, in a way. And with the developments to make the device a real product, the accuracy could have improved even more since then.
Of course, there’s still a bit of debate about whether or not the device is as good as the founders of the company claim. Details are also still pretty sparse, though the company’s decision to market it as a “near-telepathic” device has raised some eyebrows about its legitimacy.
