They're a little fuzzy, but the exact quote from the video is: "IBM scientists are researching how to link your devices, such as a computer or a smart phone. So you just need to think about calling someone, and it happens." From the context it is implied that this will happen in 5 years. In their in-depth blog post about the topic, they say: "...I could wonder what the traffic will be like on the way home and this information would pop up in front of me."

So I think they are actually describing a "call mom" scenario, and I strongly doubt that the information to detect that is at all present in an EEG signal.

I bet it's harder not to compulsively think "Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right" than it is to dial a phone.

Maybe if it recognized just thinking about that sequence, but I think having to deliberately focus on each direction (kind of like pressing a series of buttons in your mind, one after the other) would be too hard to accidentally do like that.