Elon Musk Experiment Shows: Neuralink, founded by SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, is developing a brain-computer interface (BCI).
Elon Musk Experiment Picture: Neuralink/Youtube
Apparent riffing on the old saw about monkeys and typewriters, the company showed a video of a monkey that the owner said could "type" on an on-screen keyboard with the help of a coin-sized chip implanted in its brain.
The monkey was not trying to figure out what the words meant; instead, it used the mouse to choose the already-highlighted words to earn a fruit smoothie.
Musk said at the event, "For want of a better comparison, it's as replacing a bit of your skull with a wristwatch," and vowed to have one of the devices implanted in its brain.
While this may appear like a major advancement at the time, the technology itself has really been around for decades. Hundreds of patients, for example, have had a device called "the Utah array" surgically implanted in their brains so that they may control robotic limbs or write messages.
Some believe that the improved wireless interface that Neuralink has introduced might make the technology more accessible to the general public. Utah arrays are awkward and invasive because they need a physical connection between the user and the computer.
While demonstrating, Neuralink also displayed the large robot that would be used to place the company's N1 chip into a surgically created opening in the individual’s skull and communicate with the brain.
Read Technology World News: Elon Musk Gives Open Challenge to Apple and Google
Musk even boasted that human implant trials might begin in as little as six months. However, his track record for meeting deadlines is quite spotty, and his goals are usually exceedingly ambitious. The Food and Drug Administration in the US is the only entity with the authority to approve human testing of the technology.
During the event, Musk made many extravagant claims regarding Neuralink, including restoring mobility to the paralyzed and restoring sight to the blind.
These statements expand on his earlier assertions that the gadget will eventually "cure" schizophrenia and autism and could even be used to play music straight to one’s brain.
The event elicited a range of reactions among the experts in the audience:
BCI researcher Daniel Yoshor and University of Pennsylvania neurosurgeon told The New York Times, "These are incremental advancements." Although the technology is remarkable, it is not a major step forward in repairing or improving the function of the brain.
Daniel Yoshor was skeptical of Musk's assertions that the gadget would provide sight to the visually impaired.
Company researchers increased the number of electrodes on their chips from 1,024 on the first-generation model to 16,000 on the latest-generation chip. Neuralink speculates that such an improvement in connectivity might enable very detailed vision.
Musk said during the presentation that the device may let "someone who has essentially no other interface to the outside world" use their phone more efficiently than someone with "functioning hands."
However, Elon Musk Experiment Shows Neuralink still has a ways to go before it can do this:
It may be "insanely challenging" to mass produce such a gadget, Musk claimed.
But after testing on monkeys, pigs, and sheep, the business has a long way to go before it can implant a brain chip in a human being. Concerns about this technology's possible impact on people's brains still need to be assessed by regulators.
Further, it is questionable whether anybody should trust Musk's vaunted "move fast and break things" approach to engineering if it means letting a robot implant a microchip in its brain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qatNpM3o74w
Elon Musk Experiment Picture: Neuralink/Youtube
Apparent riffing on the old saw about monkeys and typewriters, the company showed a video of a monkey that the owner said could "type" on an on-screen keyboard with the help of a coin-sized chip implanted in its brain.
The monkey was not trying to figure out what the words meant; instead, it used the mouse to choose the already-highlighted words to earn a fruit smoothie.
Musk said at the event, "For want of a better comparison, it's as replacing a bit of your skull with a wristwatch," and vowed to have one of the devices implanted in its brain.
While this may appear like a major advancement at the time, the technology itself has really been around for decades. Hundreds of patients, for example, have had a device called "the Utah array" surgically implanted in their brains so that they may control robotic limbs or write messages.
Some believe that the improved wireless interface that Neuralink has introduced might make the technology more accessible to the general public. Utah arrays are awkward and invasive because they need a physical connection between the user and the computer.
While demonstrating, Neuralink also displayed the large robot that would be used to place the company's N1 chip into a surgically created opening in the individual’s skull and communicate with the brain.
Read Technology World News: Elon Musk Gives Open Challenge to Apple and Google
Musk even boasted that human implant trials might begin in as little as six months. However, his track record for meeting deadlines is quite spotty, and his goals are usually exceedingly ambitious. The Food and Drug Administration in the US is the only entity with the authority to approve human testing of the technology.
During the event, Musk made many extravagant claims regarding Neuralink, including restoring mobility to the paralyzed and restoring sight to the blind.
These statements expand on his earlier assertions that the gadget will eventually "cure" schizophrenia and autism and could even be used to play music straight to one’s brain.
