Facebook Chief Technology Officer Mike Schroepfer said that Facebook was working on a neural sensor to read commandments from people's brains.

Having acquired neural interface startup CTRL-labs in 2019, Facebook demonstrated its progress in the field with a sensor that takes "neural signals coming from my brain, down my spinal cord along my arm, to my wrist" and allows a user to make a physical action.

 Schroepfer said it  could be used for typing, holding a virtual object, or controlling a character in a video game.

"We all get the privilege of seeing the future because we are making it", he said.

He added: "We have to build responsibly to earn trust and the right to continue to grow. It's imperative that we get this right so that people around the world get all these amazing technologies ... without experiencing the downsides."

A downside might be programming an advert directly into a person’s brain, headaches, or a sudden urge to carve up your mother with a Stanley knife.