Why Elon Musk’s neuralink is going to change the future of mankind.
Elon Musk
-CEO of Tesla, and Space X.
-Creator of the future hyperloop.
- Investor in the boring company, Solar City, and Open AI.
-3rd wealthiest man alive with a net worth of 85.5 billion USD.
This genius idealist has already made a massive impact on the advancement of human technology, and yet he is still finding new ways to transform the world. If he pulls off this next project he may go down as the single most important man in the 21st century.
On August 28th, 2020, Elon Musk presented the first look at his new neuralink.
What is the neuralink
The neuralink is a small brain implant that will create and manipulate neurons in your brain in order to solve health issues like addiction, blindness, depression, and many other brain-related issues. It can also connect your mind to gadgets like smartphones through Bluetooth technology.
In the demo, Elon describes the neuralink as access to all aspects of your brain. Pain, fear, sight, smell, hearing, and all other senses can be controlled and manipulated through the neuralink. He confidently believes that this neuralink can relieve issues like Alzheimer's, anxiety, autism, and almost all mental health issues. Not to mention this could be a breakthrough for neuroscience and figuring out every intricacy of the human brain.
Does this sound exactly like an episode of black mirror, yes! Does Elon find that as an issue, no!
Does it work?
As far fetched as this idea sounds it’s already been made, and is being implanted in animals like pigs for testing. In the Demo, Elon brings out some pigs to reveal how they are doing with the neuralink. 1 of the pigs has a neuralink in its head and it’s been in there for about 2 months. The pig is very healthy, moves around energetically, drinks water, and even ran on the treadmill. While Elon didn’t exactly say what the neuralink is accomplishing inside the pig's head there are neurons being sent from the neuralink into the pig's brain. You can see with a spike graph Elon shows revealing the neurons as they appear.
There was also a 2nd pig that had the neuralink inserted and removed. The pig according to Elon was,” very happy and healthy”, moving around just like he did before getting the neuralink at all. This pig proved that if for some reason you wanted to remove or get a new neuralink it can safely be removed.
Overall the pigs didn’t do much but show the insertion and removal of the neuralink is safe, but it is a great first step.
How do you put it in
When it comes to the insertion of the neuralink Elon is certain that the only way it can be done correctly and safely is through automated robotic surgery. Human error is not an option when inserting the neuralink so they are also producing robot surgeons that can remove and insert the neuralink. The pig's test trial used robotic surgery. According to Elon, the human brain is roughly 10 mm thick the neuralink is about 5 mm. The surgery will remove 5mm of your skull and the neuralink will lie flat matching perfectly with the shape of your skull. It would leave a small scar but ultimately will be unnoticeable if you have hair.
What about battery life?
The 0.9 prototype has about 1,000 channels which are way more than any current technology device (like an iPhone), has all-day battery life that will be charged overnight with a wireless charging device. Elon says you would charge it in the same way you charge a phone. Also, like an iPhone over time there will be upgraded versions of the neuralink produced after launching the first neuralink.
Is this realistic?
Now comes the big question is this idea actually achievable. Contrary to many people’s beliefs I believe in the neuralink. Of course, we might be years from actually having a functional one, but it’s a start. Tesla wasn’t always the amazing company it’s seen as now, before Elon became the CEO the company was going bankrupt. Yet Elon saw the vision of Tesla and made it one of the most famous motor vehicle companies in the world. Elon has proven himself as a very ambitious, and accomplished man. Many people believe he is spreading himself to thin, or trying to accomplish too many things at once. With Tesla, Space X, (his mission to start colonizing other planets) the hyperloop,( an evolved underground transportation system), and the neuralink, it’s easy to believe the man is not being realistic. However realistic people don’t change the world. The man obviously isn’t wasting any time in creating his vision and he already has developed a prototype. Elon has already proven he is more than capable of pursuing his ambitions and it’s important to remember he’s not alone. He is hiring hundreds of neurosurgeons, software developers, engineers, and everyone else he needs to create his vision. He’s not doing this on his own, and he certainly shouldn’t be taking all the credit.
Like him or not though Elon Musk is creating the future. Rather than just talking about issues he is taking action to solve those real-world problems.
He really is advancing the human race, and I couldn’t be more excited to witness it.
