Elon Musk's Neuralink triumph: first human successfully implanted
'In the long term, Neuralink hopes to play a role in AI … civilizational risk reduction by improving human to AI (and human to human) bandwidth by several orders of magnitude,' Musk continued. 'Imagine if Stephen Hawking had had this.'
On Monday, Elon Musk disclosed that his brain technology firm, Neuralink, has achieved a milestone by successfully implanting its first brain chip in a human.
According to The Wall Street Journal, this Neuralink implant, designed as a brain-computer interface, aims to assist individuals suffering from severe conditions like paralysis. It enables them to operate devices merely through their thoughts. Musk, who established Neuralink in 2016 with a group of experts, revealed that the inaugural recipient underwent the implant procedure on Sunday and is currently recuperating effectively.
“Initial results show promising neuron spike detection,” Musk added, which means the Neuralink device is detecting signals from neurons in the brain, according to the WSJ.
According to Bloomberg, the brain chip, about the size of a coin, transmits brain signals to a dedicated Neuralink application. This app interprets the signals into actionable commands. Neuralink envisions this cutting-edge brain technology as a means to aid individuals who are paralyzed or have impairments in vision or hearing. In the long term, Musk aspires for Neuralink to facilitate a synergy between humans and the continuously advancing realm of artificial intelligence (AI).
Following the approval from the FDA last year for Neuralink to initiate human clinical trials, and the company's commencement of participant recruitment, Musk stated that “The first human patient will soon receive a Neuralink device. This ultimately has the potential to restore full body movement.”
“In the long term, Neuralink hopes to play a role in AI … civilizational risk reduction by improving human to AI (and human to human) bandwidth by several orders of magnitude,” Musk continued. “Imagine if Stephen Hawking had had this.”
Responding to my question on X suggesting that Neuralink could be a way to catch up with AI and rein it in, Musk replied, "Yeah."
Prior to implanting a brain chip in its first human participant, Neuralink conducted experiments using monkeys, demonstrating footage of these animals playing the game "Pong" on computers. While no specific details were released about the human recipient, Neuralink's website indicates that they are actively recruiting for their first clinical trial, targeting individuals with severely restricted or no use of both hands due to conditions like cervical spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Musk said on Monday that the first Neuralink product “is called Telepathy,” adding that it “enables control of your phone or computer, and through them almost any device, just by thinking.”
Enables control of your phone or computer, and through them almost any device, just by thinking.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 30, 2024
Initial users will be those who have lost the use of their limbs.
Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a speed typist or auctioneer. That is the goal.
“Initial users will be those who have lost the use of their limbs,” Musk said. “Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a speed typist or auctioneer. That is the goal.”
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