# Recording and Recreating Neurons Could Change Who We Are by Christian Keysers > "I foresee that the ability to measure and recreate brain activity at the level of specific neurons at will is about to transform us in ways that no other invention ever has. The invention of fire, of the wheel, of antibiotics or the Internet changed how we live our lives in profound ways. It made our lives safer, more comfortable, and more exciting. But they have not changed who we are. Being able to record and manipulate brain activity will change who we are. It will serve as an interface through which computers can become part of our brain, and through which our brains could directly interface with each other." > **— Christian Keysers**, *2016, Edge Annual Question, “What Do You Consider the Most Interesting Recent Scientific News? What Makes It Important?”* ## Sources and Context - **Direct Edge response and surrounding essay:** [Optogenetics](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/26600) — Edge published this passage in its 2016 Annual Question collection, *What Do You Consider the Most Interesting Recent Scientific News? What Makes It Important?*. The full response preserves the qualifications and argument surrounding this exact extract. - **Complete local collection index:** [[research/Edge 2016 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 2016 Full Quotation Curation]] — retained source-first archive record for the complete yearly response cohort. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Neurotech|Neurotech]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Consciousness Continuity|Consciousness Continuity]] - **Article:** [[articles/Technologies for Consciousness Mapping and Transfer|Consciousness Mapping and Transfer]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Organic-Synthetic Brain Atlas|Organic-Synthetic Brain Atlas]] - **Article:** [[articles/2026 Annual Report on Brain-Computer Interfaces|2026 BCI Report]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Next Interface Layer|Next Interface Layer]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Neural Interfaces and Continuity Architecture|Neural Interfaces and Continuity Architecture]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Optogenetics|Optogenetics]] - [[wiki/Causal Neural Manipulation|Causal Neural Manipulation]] - [[wiki/Brain-Computer Interfaces|Brain-Computer Interfaces]] - [[wiki/Neural Interface|Neural Interface]] ## Share on Social Media ``` "I foresee that the ability to measure and recreate brain activity at the level of specific neurons at will is about to transform us in ways that no other invention ever has. The invention of fire, of the wheel, of antibiotics or the Internet changed how we live our lives in profound ways. It made our lives safer, more comfortable, and more exciting. But they have not changed who we are. Being able to record and manipulate brain activity will change who we are. It will serve as an interface through which computers can become part of our brain, and through which our brains could directly interface with each other." — Christian Keysers, 2016, Edge Annual Question, “What Do You Consider the Most Interesting Recent Scientific News? What Makes It Important?” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-christian-keysers-recreating-neurons-change-us ```