Neuralink, a futuristic neurotechnology company, claims to be the first to attempt communication and connection between the mind and external devices. Through this, they hope to continue to advance their technology in such a way that even blindness can be cured. But how plausible is this?
Founded in 2016 by Elon Musk, Ben Rapoport, Dongjin Seo, Max Hodak, Paul Merolla, Philip Sabes, Tim Gardner, Tim Hanson, and Vanessa Tolosa, Neuralink’s project focuses on developing an implant that can be placed in the brain and connected to an external device. We call these Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs). With neuroscientists playing a role in this project, Neuralink will act as a sewing machine in areas that have affected a physical ability. Their ideal vision is to insert a chip in your brain with the outcome of solving spine or brain problems. If this project becomes successful, it will allow scientists to study the electrical signals in the brain which can aid the process to finding a cure of many medical conditions such as blindness and insomnia.
How plausible is this? Well, unfortunately we don’t know yet. Brain implementations have always been a concept that was widely tested among scientists, stemming back in the 1990s where scientists would probe paralyzed people in an attempt to un-paralyze them. During Elon Musk’s real time demonstration held on August 28, he made sure not to suggest any dates on when Neuralink will proceed forward with human subject testing. We’ll probably see Neuralink’s success in a few decades, but not anytime soon.
During the live demonstration of Neuralink, Elon presented a small disk called “the Link” which had computer chips that had the ability to transmit signals that were noted by electrodes. The use of electrodes would be to produce electrical pulses that would regulate any abnormal brain pulses or strategically affect the chemicals in the brain to produce the ideal result. Recording the electrodes would be beneficial as the Link will be able to send out the same signals, but directly to the brain.
The Link would have to be charged every night through a wireless induction coil. Elon also emphasized how the disk would not be noticeable for those wearing it, so they wouldn’t stand out in a crowd for problems they couldn’t control.
Neuralink has been approved by the FDA, but no human subject testing will be involved just yet, Currently, Neuralink is working on rodents and pigs to perform trial and error experiments to make sure this brain implementation isn’t only successful, but safe.
Are we finally seeing the beginning of the future?
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