Visionary entrepreneur Elon Musk announced on X that Neuralink has installed its brain implant on a human for the first time. Neuralink Corporation is a neurotechnology company, founded by a group of entrepreneurs, including Elon Musk, who are in the business of developing implantable neural interfaces. After several years and with approval from an ethics committee, the company began recruiting patients for a clinical trial. Elon Musk’s goal is to achieve a symbiosis with artificial intelligence, although for the moment the company is working on allowing paralyzed people to control a cursor or keyboard with their brains. The company has, in fact, recruited patients suffering from quadriplegia, the paralysis of all four limbs of the body. The company said a surgical robot will be used to place the implant inside the brain. The coin-sized device is designed to record and transmit brain signals wirelessly to an application that can decode them. Musk announced that the patient who was fitted with the device “is recovering well” and that “early results show promising detection of neuronal spikes.” Despite this, it will most likely take months before we know if the subject will be able to successfully use the implant to control a computer or other device. Before the patient can use the Brain-computer interface, or BCI, device, he or she must begin training in its use.
The Neuralink patient isn’t the first actually, these neural interfaces have already been implanted in dozens of people as part of research studies. These devices have allowed several paralyzed people to be able to play video games, move robotic arms, and write emails with their thoughts. Neuralink’s system, thanks to the use of wireless transmission that records neural activity, is less invasive and easier to use for research. Since Neuralink’s founding in 2016, several companies have sprung up that commercialize systems that aim to connect the brain to a computer.
This will be followed by monitoring of the patient and these studies.
The integration of artificial intelligence into the human brain could lead to extraordinary advances in treating neurological diseases, optimizing cognitive performance, and expanding human capabilities. However, we must also be vigilant towards challenges related to privacy, security, and the potential loss of individual autonomy. At this pivotal moment in our history, it is imperative that we carefully examine the path we are taking and ensure that the use of these technologies is guided by sound ethical principles and a willingness to promote collective well-being.
Written by Sara Pia Votta