Elon Musk’s brain implant company Neuralink has implanted its first microchip into a human brain. The procedure took place on Sunday, the patient is doing well and recovering, and the initial results are encouraging, Musk announced on X – writes telex.hu.
According to Neuralink, the initial goal is for paralyzed people to be able to control a computer cursor or keyboard using only their thoughts. According to Musk’s hopes, the product called “Telepathy” will allow people with a paralyzing disease similar to Stephen Hawking’s to communicate more quickly, Sky News reported.
The first human received an implant from @Neuralink yesterday and is recovering well.
Initial results show promising neuron spike detection.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 29, 2024
Last year, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allowed the company to conduct the first human trial of the implant, an important milestone in the development of the technology. In September, Neuralink said it had received approval to recruit for a human trial.
Neuralink has already successfully implanted artificial intelligence microchips into the brains of a macaque monkey named Pager and a pig named Gertrud. With the implant, Pager was also able to control the video game Pong with his brain, but as we wrote earlier, despite the video released about it, questions arose about this.
The FDA previously raised issues with the lithium action of the chips, the potential for the cables in the chips to reach the brain, and whether it will be possible to remove the implant without damaging the brain. In addition, a lot of investigations have already been launched against Neuralink due to the suspicion of animal cruelty, and it has also emerged that chips containing pathogens extracted from the brains of monkeys could be transported without proper precautions.
Elon Musk previously stated that with implants that can be implanted in the brain, a series of popular diseases could be solved, from obesity to depression, schizophrenia and autism could be cured, and of course he considers telepathy to be realistic. Musk also said that he trusts the technology so much that he would be willing to implant such a chip in the brains of his own children.
