What is Neuralink’s Goal?

What is Neuralink’s Goal?

When the technology development plans first emerged, the firm described it as a way to enable paralyzed individuals to control devices like computers or smartphones with their minds. However, during the “Show and Tell” event in 2020, Musk mentioned the concept of “conceptual telepathy,” allowing two individuals to communicate “through thinking” with the aid of a chip. He stated, “In the future, you will be able to save and replay memories.”

In the same year, he also envisioned a “symbiosis” between humans and artificial intelligence, suggesting that the chip would enable humans to communicate without speaking.

Can It Treat Neurological Diseases?

Musk later stated that the focus of Neuralink’s technology is to help paralyzed individuals regain motor skills. The tech mogul expressed, “As miraculous as it may sound, we believe it is possible for a person with a severed spinal cord to regain full body functionality.”

The chip is also claimed to potentially restore vision in people who have been blind their entire lives and to treat brain diseases like Parkinson’s, dementia, and Alzheimer’s.

Is the Neuralink Chip Safe?

Neuralink has spent the past few years testing the chip on animals, with mixed results. In 2020, Musk publicly introduced the Neuralink chip for the first time with a demonstration on a pig named “Gertrude.” The following year, Musk showcased another demonstration where a macaque monkey with a brain chip played a computer game using only its thoughts. However, in February 2022, Neuralink confirmed that monkeys had died during testing.

Failed Monkey Experiments

Neuralink has faced lawsuits alleging mistreatment, with details shared in the case. The lawsuit claims that animals “suffered from infections due to electrodes implanted in their brains” and that an unapproved substance “destroyed parts of their brains,” leading to the deaths of the monkeys.

Will Neuralink Chips Be Implanted in Children?

An advanced-stage paralyzed patient became the first to receive a permanent brain implant allowing for telepathic communication. Musk also stated, in response to a question, that he would feel comfortable implanting a brain chip in one of his children, saying, “At least in my view, we have reached a point where it would not be dangerous.”