Elon Musk’s company, Neuralink, is developing implants that will allow people to communicate with machines simply by thinking.
According to Neuralink’s chief surgeon, Dr. Matthew MacDougall, the company’s first clinical trials with a small number of human patients will be aimed at treating paralysis or paraplegia.
The neurotechnology company wants to create implants that can treat neurological disorders. Also, that could one day be powerful enough to put humanity on an equal footing with future supercomputers.
“A Fitbit in your skull with tiny wires,” Musk said of Neuralink’s chip. It is about 23 millimeters (0.9 inches) in diameter.
People with severe spinal cord injuries will be the first to benefit from Neuralink’s technology. It will allow them to communicate, type, and also move using their brain waves.
On Friday, the brain-chip startup also published footage. It appeared to show a monkey playing a simple videogame after receiving the new technology implants.
It is not new
According to the video’s voiceover, Neuralink works by recording and decoding electrical impulses from the brain using over 2,000 electrodes placed in sections of the monkey’s motor cortex that control hand and arm movements.
Through companies like Tesla Inc, SpaceX, and Boring Co., Musk has a history of bringing together diverse experts to develop technology that was previously limited to academic labs.
It’s not new to connect a brain to technology. Doctors likewise use electrodes implanted in the brain to administer stimulation to patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, or chronic pain. In trials, implanted sensors allowed paralyzed persons to control computers and move robotic arms using brain waves.
However, Musk’s plan goes further. Neuralink hopes to improve on present medical treatments and, in the future, focus on operations that could help with cognitive function.
Also, Neuralink isn’t the only business working on brain-based artificial intelligence.
Bryan Johnson founded Kernel in 2016, after selling his previous payments startup Braintree to PayPal for $800 million. Kernel’s focus is on “advanced brain interfaces” to treat disease and extend cognition.