In some earth-shattering recent news, we discover that the world as we know it is changing right before our very eyes.
But that’s what we at Web3sy deal with, don’t we? We love emerging technologies, so we’re going to let you know about the latest developments in one of the most interesting bio-technology to date.
Firstly, let’s review what we know about Neuralink so far. In true emerging technology fashion, we asked the AI of ChatGPT to remind us:
CHATGPT: “Hello! Certainly, I’d be happy to help. Neuralink Corporation is a neurotechnology company founded by Elon Musk in 2016. The company’s goal is to develop brain–machine interface (BMI) technologies that can allow direct communication between the human brain and external devices, such as computers or other digital systems.”
In effect, Elon Musk is creating a technology that allows bi-directional communication of brain signals. What that means is creating the ability to both Read and Write brain signals to and from the brain. Recent progress has made Neuralink shift their focus slightly to remote manipulation of digital devices such as computers. In fact, this is exactly what Neuralink are working on with their newest product, Telepathy. More on this later.
Now, hacking into the brain is one thing but I am sure that we can tell that there are a multitude of different uses and applications of this technology. Some are more benign than others. Initially, Elon wanted this technology to be used within healthcare environments, and there are plenty of use cases and experiments where this has proven true. Both Neuralink and Elon have come under hot scrutiny for a number of years regarding the expendable way that Neuralink has conducted tests on animal subjects in order to reach their goals, one of which is to create brain implants with the aim to rehabilitate paralytic patients. Naturally, it raises questions about the ethics of the development of such a technology. But that’s not the shocking part of this article.
The reason that we are writing a blog post on this today, however, is because a large development was made in Neuralink recently. On Tuesday the 30th, of January 2024, Elon Musk tweeted about the first human being receiving a Neuralink implant. This news arrives only a few months after Neuralink began promoting the recruitment of potential human test subjects for its clinical trial. Fortunately, we know that they are recovering well, but what does that mean for the future of Brain Machine Interfaces?
In a recently published video depicting Neuralink’s latest clinical PRIME (Precise Robotic IMplanted brain-computer interfacE) trials, we can see applications of the Neuralink implant. We see examples of applications and games being operated simply by “thoughts”. The video ends with a call for participants for the PRIME study, for people with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), who may qualify.
The official blog of Neuralink states: “During the study, the R1 Robot will be used to surgically place the N1 Implant’s ultra-fine and flexible threads in a region of the brain that controls movement intention. Once in place, the N1 Implant is cosmetically invisible and is intended to record and transmit brain signals wirelessly to an app that decodes movement intention. The initial goal of our BCI is to grant people the ability to control a computer cursor or keyboard using their thoughts alone.”
If you are interested in the study, you can find the video here: Neuralink’s Clinical Trial: The PRIME Study.
The product that Neuralink is currently developing, Telepathy, “enables control of your phone or computer, and through them almost any device, just by thinking.” according to Musk. It is assumed that the first few trials of the procedure will focus on patients with paralysis, before potentially having the trial expanded within the next 1-2 years.
With such groundbreaking advancements being made at the beginning of 2024, it makes us wonder what the end of 2024 could look like, and allows us to question the future of Human Computer Interaction.
The way we interact with things may be changing faster than we assume.
Yours ever curiously,
Nkeiruka Whenu.
CEO of Web3sy.
Sources:
- Neuralink Official Website – https://neuralink.com/
- @metav3rse – https://www.instagram.com/p/C2uuGowsqa4/?igsh=MW51eTQwc2c5Z2FpaQ%3D%3D&img_index=1
- TMZ – https://www.tmz.com/2024/01/29/elon-musk-neuralink-brain-chip-first-implant-human-trials/
- Reuters – https://www.reuters.com/technology/musks-neuralink-faces-federal-probe-employee-backlash-over-animal-tests-2022-12-05/
- ASU.edu – https://news.asu.edu/20240131-health-and-medicine-next-steps-neuralinks-first-human-trail-gets-underway