In a landmark moment for the melding of humans and technology, Elon Musk’s innovative start-up, Neuralink, has announced that it has been granted permission by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to commence its first in-human clinical study of its state-of-the-art brain implants.
Characterizing this FDA clearance as a “significant first step,” Neuralink conveyed its ambitions for the innovative technology, which has been designed to facilitate a direct interface between the human brain and digital devices. The announcement came via a post on the company’s official Twitter account, managed by Musk himself. Details regarding participant recruitment for the clinical trial are still forthcoming.
Since its inception, Neuralink has been pioneering the development of implants that would allow human brains to communicate directly with computers. Musk had shared insights into this ambitious project in a presentation held in December, stating, “We’ve been working hard to be ready for our first human (implant), and obviously we want to be extremely careful and certain that it will work well before putting a device in a human.”
Thus far, prototypes of the Neuralink devices, roughly the size of a coin, have been successfully implanted in the skulls of monkeys. The company has demonstrated several instances of monkeys engaging with basic video games or manipulating a cursor on a screen, solely through the functionality of their Neuralink implant. The technology has also undergone preliminary testing in pigs.
These sophisticated devices are installed in the brain using a surgical robot, which replaces a piece of the skull with a Neuralink disc, with slender wires meticulously inserted into the brain. The disc collects nerve activity data, transmitting the information via a standard Bluetooth wireless signal to a device like a smartphone, as explained by Musk.
In its installed form, the device is discreet and unobtrusive, nestled under the hair and unnoticeable to the naked eye.
Although Neuralink’s primary aim is to enable human-computer interaction, Musk envisions far-reaching applications for the technology. Initial endeavors will focus on using the implants to restore vision and mobility in individuals who have lost these capabilities.
Neuralink intends to initially empower individuals with severely limited muscle control to operate their phones faster than individuals with fully functional hands, a prospect that Musk labels as “miraculous”. He further adds, “We are confident that it is possible to restore full body functionality to someone who has a severed spinal cord.”
However, beyond addressing neurological impairments, Musk has expressed concerns about human intellect being overshadowed by artificial intelligence (AI), and sees this technology as a preventive measure. Other companies, such as Synchron, are also making strides in the development of similar brain-machine interfaces.
Members of the Neuralink team have an expansive vision for the technology, spanning from reinstating mobility in paralyzed individuals and restoring sight to the blind, to enabling telepathy and even the possibility of uploading memories for future reference or potential downloading into substitute bodies.
In parallel, Musk has recently established a new venture focused on developing advanced AI. He anticipates a forthcoming breakthrough in autonomous driving technology at Tesla, his electric car manufacturing company.
Musk has posited that syncing human minds with machines is crucial to avoid being rendered obsolete by rapidly advancing AI. However, his ambitious vision of a symbiotic merger between human minds and computational power continues to be met with caution by experts and academics in the field.
