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Elon Musk gets nod for human trials of Neuralink brain chip and Twitter users are divided
Elon Musk says that this chip holds the potential to address severe conditions like paralysis and blindness.Many are excited for the new tech and want to get recruited already while others are curious as to how it will work in future
- Updated May 26, 2023, 6:49 PM IST
The dystopian future is near – Elon Musk is one step closer to chipping our brains
The billionaire’s brain chip firm has received approval to conduct tests on humans.
No, this isn’t the opening sequence to a sci-fi blockbuster, Elon Musk has actually started work on brain-chipping humans. His brain chip firm has said it’s received approval from the US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) to conduct its first test.
The billionaire’s company is called Neuralink and is said to want to help restore people’s vision and mobility by connecting the human brain to a computer. Apparently the plans to recruit participants are not immediate, but given the earlier bid by Neuralink to get FDA approval failed (according to a report in march by Reuters), this win may see the tests start soon.
Neuralink is aiming to use this microchipping to treat conditions like paralysis and blindness. Experts have spoken out and said that the company’s plans to test these implants will require way more extensive testing before this is properly carried out. Questions of ethics will come into play before they are open to public use. The chips have been previously tested in monkeys, and will work via Bluetooth to relay information from the motor system to the brain.
The company has spoken out to say that this will “represent an important first step that will one day allow our technology to help many people.” They added that further information will be out soon regarding recruitment to the clinical trials. Musk tweeted out his congratulations to the team.
On their website, their mission reads: “Create a generalised brain interface to restore autonomy to those with unmet medical needs today and unlock human potential tomorrow.” Co-founded by Musk in 2016, alongside Max Hodak, the team’s initial goal was to plant the chips into the brains of humans in 2020, which was then changed to 2022, and the speed at which they bring their plans to life has been overestimated numerous times.
Last December it was reported to Reuters that one of the setbacks was due to an ongoing investigation regarding animal welfare violations. The allegations were denied. A similar scientific venture received FDA approval for human tests by Swiss researchers. The results saw a paralysed man from the Netherlands able to walk with the chip tapping into his thoughts.
The field of implants is rather crowded, with companies like Synchronic, Medtronic, NeuroPace and Blackrock Neurotech all testing the chips, with some receiving FDA approval and already testing on humans. There have already been multiple investigations into the work of Neuralink, and their rush to get human testing passed before they are ready means all eyes will be on this next round of advances. It looks like there is a scientific race on to who will perfect the brain chip first.
People really don't want Elon Musk, a guy whose cars have caught fire and rockets have exploded, to put chips in their brains
Elon Musk's Neuralink says it's finally allowed to put brain implants in human beings, and the internet's not thrilled by the prospect.
When Neuralink tweeted on Thursday that federal authorities have approved its first human clinical study, the comments were filled with praises and well-wishes from verified accounts — people who've paid for a Twitter subscription.
But not everyone was enthusiastic about Neuralink's trial getting approved — in the kingdom of the checkmark-less, people are basically reacting with a collective "hell nah."
"The first dudes in line are still going to be apes," one user tweeted.
"Just say NOPE!" wrote another.
The backlash isn't too surprising, given how the announcement is about tech that literally puts a chip in your head, and Skynet still grips people on the internet with fear. Musk himself has hinted that he thinks nefarious AI might be a possibility.
The negative comments were largely directed toward Musk, not Neuralink. Neuralink says it's working on developing implants to assist paralyzed people, a feat recently accomplished by Swiss researchers.
Some people were not convinced that the technology would be used for positive ends in Musk's hands.
"If this is what you really think he's going to use it for, you're delusional," wrote one Twitter user.
"No trust or belief in him or anything he as anything to do with," tweeted another.
Lots of people are posting GIFs of exploding heads, likely referencing either past explosive hiccups from Musk's companies, like Teslas catching fire spontaneously, or reports that hundreds of animals tested by Neuralink have died.
To be fair, the billionaire's trade is in exceedingly ambitious ideas like living on Mars, self-driving cars, fixing the problem of traffic, and getting people on the internet to discuss things responsibly.
But with those ambitions have come very visible failures, such as SpaceX's mega-rocket bursting into flames in April (said by Musk to be an expected outcome) and The Boring Company's hyped Washington D.C. and Los Angeles projects stalling out in 2021.
And on Wednesday, tech issues on Musk's Twitter Spaces led to a disastrous start for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' 2024 campaign announcement, as hundreds of thousands of listeners overloaded the site.
"Elon already showed this week that he's the guy with the technical attention to detail to trust with brain implants," one Twitter user wrote sarcastically.
Meanwhile, some people are asking Musk to test the brain implants on himself.
They shouldn't have to wait long. Musk said in December that he'd do so once human trials are ready to go.
Whether the billionaire, CEO, and father of 10 actually puts the chip in his head remains to be seen.
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