Elon Musk wants to merge humans and AI with brain implant
- 5 years ago
SAN FRANCISCO — Is becoming cybernetically enhanced the next step in human evolution?
According to Elon Musk, humanity is at risk of being left behind by the advancement of artificial intelligence, and claims the solution is to achieve symbiosis with it.
To do this, his startup Neuralink has created a brain implant made up of a small, ultra-thin mesh thread that is laced with electrodes to detect neural activity.
The threads are injected into the brain using a small robot developed by the company. Once inserted through tiny holes in the skull, the thread's electrodes relay brain activity to a small implant behind the ear.
The implant connects wirelessly to a wearable device called the Link, which can be configured through an iPhone app.
With some training, Neuralink senior scientist Philip Sabes, says users will be able to control their phone, and later redirect the output to control a keyboard or mouse.
The Guardian reports that the company has so far only tested on animals, including recording a rat's brain activity and allowing a monkey to control a computer with its brain.
Musk and his team say the tech is about ready to be tested on humans, but will have to first get approval from the FDA, and a few willing test subjects.
According to Elon Musk, humanity is at risk of being left behind by the advancement of artificial intelligence, and claims the solution is to achieve symbiosis with it.
To do this, his startup Neuralink has created a brain implant made up of a small, ultra-thin mesh thread that is laced with electrodes to detect neural activity.
The threads are injected into the brain using a small robot developed by the company. Once inserted through tiny holes in the skull, the thread's electrodes relay brain activity to a small implant behind the ear.
The implant connects wirelessly to a wearable device called the Link, which can be configured through an iPhone app.
With some training, Neuralink senior scientist Philip Sabes, says users will be able to control their phone, and later redirect the output to control a keyboard or mouse.
The Guardian reports that the company has so far only tested on animals, including recording a rat's brain activity and allowing a monkey to control a computer with its brain.
Musk and his team say the tech is about ready to be tested on humans, but will have to first get approval from the FDA, and a few willing test subjects.