Always in controversy. Elon Musk has just made a surprising promise. He says that in six months the brain will be connected to the computer. How? Thanks to his Neuralink brain chip. He promises to connect the brain directly to computers.
Human trials will be done in six months. This is not the first time he has offered it. The recent owner of Twitter said it a year ago as well. He couldn’t meet the offered deadline.
Tests on monkeys
Neuralink is a brain chip the size of a penny. It would enable disabled patients to move and communicate again. Or regain vision “even people who have never been able to see before,” he said. Those will be Neuralink’s first goals. And to be able to control a computer, a cell phone or any connected device by thought alone.
The company has been conducting tests on monkeys since 2017. But a report by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine indicted the company. It said it subjected its test animals to “extreme suffering.” 15 of the 23 test monkeys died or had to be euthanized.
Still, they want to start clinical trials in people. “We want to be extremely careful. And be sure it will work well before we put a device in a human being,” Musk said. The FDA has yet to rule on the matter.
Other announcements
Elon Musk is much given to grandiose announcements. He said he will send manned missions to Mars this decade (NASA is targeting the next one, most likely by the end. Many experts doubt that the deadline will be met). He also wants to colonize the Red Planet to save humanity. His dream is to die on our neighboring world, as he has said on several occasions.
Still, Neuralink has repeatedly missed its internal deadlines. Let alone its boss’s predictions. Musk approached its competitor, Synchron, to feel out a possible investment. It was after expressing frustration to Neuralink employees over its slow progress, Reuters reported.
We’ll soon know if the brain will connect to the computer… or if this is actually a long way off.
