Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, has recently revealed that the company is making strides in developing consumer neural interfaces. These are non-invasive wearable devices that can interpret brain signals, enabling users to control computers with their minds.

During a conversation with YouTuber Roberto Nickson, Zuckerberg expressed his excitement about the imminent arrival of these devices, which he believes will be a game-changer. Unlike Elon Musk's Neuralink brain chip, Meta's wearables will not require invasive procedures. Instead, they will be worn on the wrist, interpreting neural signals sent from the brain to the hand to control devices subtly.

Meta's foray into neural interfaces began in March 2021, with the company exploring wrist-based interaction. The wristband being developed uses electromyography (EMG) to translate brain signals into commands for controlling devices.

Zuckerberg has described the technology as "really cool" and "really interesting," despite acknowledging that the first version of the product is yet to be rolled out. He has also expressed his belief that the neural wristband could become a consumer product in just a few years, thanks to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to overcome the limitations of camera-based gesture tracking.

The CEO has also envisioned the neural interfaces working in tandem with Meta's Ray-Ban augmented reality smart glasses. The "hero feature" of these glasses, according to Zuckerberg, is the integration of AI, which will enable users to ask questions about their surroundings and receive answers in real-time.

Meanwhile, lawmakers in the United States are working on legislation to protect privacy in the emerging field of neurotech. The Protect Privacy of Biological Data Act, which expands the definition of "sensitive data" to include biological and neural data, was recently passed in Colorado.

In other news, Meta has released a new version of Meta AI, the assistant that operates across the company's applications and glasses. The upgraded AI will use the new "state-of-the-art Llama 3 AI model," which will be open-sourced. According to Zuckerberg, the goal is to build the world's leading AI.