In December, Elon Musk announced that he was hoping the first Neuralink brain chip would be implanted in humans in 2022. Currently, Musk is looking for a clinical trial director for the project meaning human implantation is one step closer.
The Neuralink technology would allow the brain to be connected to devices. According to the company’s website, the goal is to create a “brain computer interface” so a person could transmit data wirelessly between their brain and a computer.
According to the advertisement on the company’s website, after the successful implantation of the chip into a pig and a macaque monkey, the director would oversee the “chipping of humans.”
This development in human science has been compared to science fiction pop culture, including Netflix’s “Black Mirror.” Sam Fischer tweeted, “first robot dogs, now this. Black Mirror doesn’t even need to come back at this point, we’re here, we did it.”
Another person tweeted, “There are several Black Mirror episodes about how this is a bad idea.”
Last year, Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern interviewed Musk about the Neuralink chip. He stated the chip was “designed to get those with severe spinal cord injuries walking again.”
People have taken to Twitter to express their concerns about Musk’s Neuralink brain chip. Many inferred that Musk has a God complex, Clayton Cubitt tweeted:
Can’t wait to be stuck in a tunnel with my brain on fire sitting in a Tesla which is also on fire.
Kalynn Bayron tweeted the joke was on Musk because when she goes to bed her brain already replays her most embarrassing moments.
In 2021, Neuralink released a video of Pager, the macaque playing Pong after receiving the implant. Musk stated, “Neuralink is working well in monkeys and we’re obviously doing a lot of testing and just confirming it’s very safe and reliable and the Neuralink device can be removed safely.”
Written by Jeanette Vietti
Sources:
News Hub: Neuralink brain-chip ridiculed as Musk company recruits clinical trial director; by Mike Kilpatrick
USA TODAY: Elon Musk’s Neuralink plans to implant chips in human brains to treat neural disorders; by Michelle Shen
Tech Times: Elon Musk’s Neuralink plans to implant chips in human brains to treat neural disorders; by Aubrey Clarke
Featured Image Courtesy of Thomas Hawk’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inline Image Courtesy of Steve Jurvetson’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
