Elon Musk’s brain machine will connect the human brain to a computer interface
Musk wants to use his brain machine to help people with severe neurological conditions, but eventually people will have the option of merging with artificial intelligence.
Tesla chief Elon Musk, pictured in March 2019, will take part in presentations of the new technology at the company’s Silicon Valley headquarters. AFP/File/Jim WATSON
Innovative South African-born billionaire Elon Musk started a company in 2016 to explore ways to connect the human brain to a computer interface.
His company, NeuraLink, recently stated it wants to help people with severe neurological conditions.
According to a whitepaper printed by bioRxiv, the “brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) hold promise for the restoration of sensory and motor function and the treatment of neurological disorders, but clinical BMIs have not yet been widely adopted, in part because modest channel counts have limited their potential”.
“We have built arrays of small and flexible electrode ‘threads’, with as many as 3 072 electrodes per array distributed across 96 threads. We have also built a neurosurgical robot capable of inserting six threads (192 electrodes) per minute. Each thread can be individually inserted into the brain with micron precision for avoidance of surface vasculature and targeting specific brain regions.”
Details on how brain activity will be translated or how the brain would be stimulated have not been released.
During an event in July which was live streamed from San Francisco, Musk revealed that the device NeuraLink is working on has been tested on a monkey, resulting in the animal controlling a computer with his brain.
Musk said: “It’s not like suddenly we will have this incredible neural lace and will take over people’s brains. It will take a long time.”
He did however say the system would ultimately allow for “symbiosis with artificial intelligence”.
In the past Musk has suggested that AI could destroy the human race. He has been vocal about his lack of trust in the future of AI, and Neuralink is his attempt to give humans an edge against the rising capabilities of machine learning and artificial intelligence.
During the presentation he said “with a high bandwidth brain machine interface, we can go along for the ride and effectively have the option of merging with AI”.
NeuraLink, in which Musk has invested more than $100 million, said they went public with their plans to put a stop to rumours.
The company has applied to US regulators to begin trials on humans in 2020.
Watch: Elon Musk’s Neuralink presentation
Originally appeared on Soundlands Sun
For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.
