Elon Musk’s start-up Neuralink has been granted approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin testing its brain implants on humans. Neuralink’s technology is intended to allow direct communication between brains and computers, and the company’s prototypes have already been implanted in monkeys. The aim of the implants is to enable people to communicate directly with computers, and Musk has suggested that they could be used to restore vision and mobility to people who have lost those abilities.
Details of the Implants
Neuralink’s implants are the size of a coin and are surgically implanted into the skull. The implants have wispy wires that are inserted into the brain, and they register nerve activity, which is then relayed to a device such as a smartphone via a common Bluetooth wireless signal. The technology has already been tested in pigs and monkeys, and Neuralink is now seeking volunteers for its first in-human clinical study.
During a presentation by the start-up in December, Musk explained that the company had been working hard to ensure that the first human implant would work well before putting the device into a person’s brain. The ultimate goal of the technology is to ensure that humans are not intellectually overwhelmed by artificial intelligence (AI). Musk has predicted that synching minds with machines is vital if people are going to avoid being so outpaced by AI that, under the best of circumstances, humans would be akin to “house cats.”
Applications of the Technology
Members of the Neuralink team have shared a “wish list” of potential applications for the technology, ranging from restoring mobility and sight to the paralyzed and blind to enabling telepathy and the uploading of memories for later reference — or perhaps to be downloaded into replacement bodies. Musk has suggested that the implants could be used to restore full body functionality to someone who has a severed spinal cord, as well as to enable people with limited muscle function to operate their phones more quickly.
Other companies are also working on similar systems, including Synchron, which implanted the first human brain-machine interface in the United States in July. However, experts and academics remain cautious about the vision of merging minds with super-powered computing.
Neuralink’s approval to test its brain implants on humans is an important first step for the technology, which has the potential to enable direct communication between brains and computers. The technology could have a range of applications, from restoring mobility and sight to people with disabilities to enabling telepathy and the uploading of memories. However, experts remain cautious about the implications of merging minds with machines and the potential risks associated with the technology.
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