It’s been six years since Tesla, SpaceX (and now Twitter) CEO Elon Musk ruled the brain control interfaces (BCI) startup Neuralink. He introduced his first implant three years ago, and two years ago they attached a brain control interface to a pig. Then it was the monkeys’ turn 19 months ago. Allegedly, 15 of 23 subjects died.
The same Neuralink has now held its third “show and tell” event, where CEO Elon Musk said, “We think we can put Neuralink on a human, probably in about six months.”
Earlier in February, Neuralink confirmed that the monkeys had died during prototype testing of BCI implants at the University of California, Davis Primate Center, but denied the Physicians Committee’s accusations of animal cruelty. “Before we consider implanting a device in an animal, we consider every possible possibility by conducting rigorous testing. We are not reckless in implanting these devices in animals. We are extremely careful. Whenever we implant the device in a sheep, pig or monkey, it is not exploratory but confirmatory,” the statement said. we do it”.
Neuralink is still working towards FDA approval for its implant, but the company was awarded the agency’s Breakthrough Device Designation in July 2020. As of September 2022, the FDA has given this designation to 728 medical devices.
The FDA also updated its practice guidance on clinical and non-clinical brain-computer connections in 2021. These devices have the potential to benefit people with severe disabilities by increasing their ability to interact with their environment and, as a result, new independence in daily life.
Musk had this to say about Neuralink’s device during the 2021 livestream event: “In many ways, it’s like putting a Fitbit on your skull.”
The device “stitches” into a patient’s gray matter to create connections with surrounding neurons, providing high-resolution sampling of the brain’s electrical emissions and translating between analog electrical impulses and digital computer code. At least in theory this is…
So far, the only thing Neuralink has accomplished is being able to play Pong on a monkey without a joystick.
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