Elon Musk is one step further into making Cyberpunk a reality.
Elon Musk has announced the first Neuralink brain chip has now been implanted in a real human. The billionaire founded the neurotechnology company in 2016 with a team of seven scientists. The company has now developed a ‘brain-computer interface’ (BCI) which can be fully implanted into a person.
The company has been hailed as the future for technology and humanity and hopefully a lifeline for users who have impairments.
The Paypal creator, who bought Twitter (X) in 2022, latest announcement could see Neuralink become as successful as his other business ventures, such as Tesla and SpaceX.
In a series of tweets, he explained to followers the patient is “recovering” well.
Although he has a list of things he believes brain chips will accomplish, it looks like forming a link between the brain and technology is at the top.
In the first human trials for Neuralink, called the PRIME study, they are trialling ‘telepathy’. Scientists are testing whether the brain chips will “enable control of your phone or computer, and through them almost any device, just by thinking”.
On Monday, (January 29), he said: “The first human received an implant from Neuralink yesterday and is recovering well. Initial results show promising neuron spike detection.”
Spikes, neuron activity, are caused by cells using electrical and chemical signals to send information around the brain and body.
Musk continued: “Initial users will be those who have lost the use of their limbs. Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a speed typist or auctioneer. That is the goal”.
However, some followers were concerned.
One wrote: “Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.”
A second echoed: “This is not going to end well.”
Then, a third questioned the safety of the technology chip, asking if there was a “backdoor” through the chip to the brain.
But other loyal fans were ecstatic over the huge step in technology. One wrote: “This is going to change and improve so many lives, thank you to the entire Neuralink team!”
The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) permitted Neuralink to carry out human trials in September following receiving a green light from an independent review board.
The billionaire believes brain chips will help an array of mental and physical health obstacles and ailments. This includes autism, depression, schizophrenia, obesity, as well as quadriplegics.
The company called the study “groundbreaking” as they confirmed they’ll be continuously monitoring the safety of the implant, as well as the surgical robot that completes the procedure. Neuralink will be focusing on the brain chip to enable “people with paralysis to control external devices with their thoughts”.
They said: “Micron-scale threads would be inserted into areas of the brain that control movement. Each thread contains many electrodes and connects them to an implant called the ‘Link’.
“The threads on the Link are so fine and flexible that they can’t be inserted by the human hand.
“Instead, we are building a robotic system that is designed to reliably and efficiently insert these threads exactly where the neurosurgeon wants them to be.”
It’s not the first time brain chips have been used, as the technology has been studied for several years. Last year, Gert-Jan Oskam used an implant that enabled him to stand and walk on his own.
The technology is still experimental though, as the brain being exposed to a foreign object carries a risk of injury or infection.
