Elon Musk Wants To Put A Chip In Human Brains

After sending a car to space, now Musk wants to link our brains to technology.

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In a private social app, Clubhouse, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Inc. said that they implanted a wireless implant with tiny wires in a monkey’s skull and the monkey can play video games with his mind. He added that we can’t see where the implant is, adding that they want them to play mind-Pong with each other.

Does this news sound like the beginning of that ape film in which they conquer the world? However, we don’t have to worry about us being enslaved by apes because Musk said that the monkey is a happy one.

Elon Musk has several companies but the one that is behind this futuristic project is Neuralink, and it is a neurotechnology company. Musk said that the Neuralink could be launching human trials “later this year”. So, Neuralink is moving from putting chips in monkeys’ brains to human beings’. We know about Tesla, and we know about SpaceX but what is Neuralink and what does Musk try to achieve through this company?

What Is Neuralink?

Neuralink is a device that will be implanted into your brain surgically. The device will help you communicate with machines and even control them. A chipset called N1 chipset will be installed in the skull. The chipset is 8 mm in diameter and has multiple wires housing electrodes and insulation for the wires.

The president of Neuralink, Max Hodak said that you can place more than one device to target different sections of the brain. Musk has described the device as a Fitbit in your skull and the aim of the device is to increase the rate at which information can flow from the human brain to a machine.

But how can it help us? Musk said that, with a direct neural interface, the bandwidth between the cortex and digital tertiary layer can be improved by many orders of magnitude. What does it mean? The cortex is a part of the brain that plays a crucial role in memory, attention, perceptual awareness, thought, language and consciousness. So, Musk might be saying that the device can improve all of these aspects.

In the long term, Musk claims that Neuralink could allow humans to send concepts to another using telepathy and exist in a “save state” after they die. Then, these thoughts can be put into a robot or another human.

In the near term, this chip can help quadriplegics, who have brain or spinal injuries so that they can control a computer mouse, or their phone. In short, it can help them control devices just with their thoughts. Musk has also said that it can solve medical conditions such as paralysis, anxiety and addiction. He has also mentioned that the chip can help in solving anything from memory loss to hearing loss and blindness.

Zooming Out

Even though all of this sounds straight from a Hollywood science-fiction film, Musk is convinced that he can achieve great things with Neuralink. However, critics are saying there might be downsides and more studying is needed. We agree with that as well. The brain is a complicated organ, and we would want Musk to be 100% sure before he puts anything in a human being’s brain.

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