News

Elon Musk Announces First Human Neuralink Implant

Although details are scarce, the Neuralink co-founder says initial results look promising.

Published

2 years ago

January 31, 2024

elon musk announces first human neuralink implant

In a recent announcement on social media platform X, entrepreneur Elon Musk revealed a significant development in the field of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). Musk disclosed that Neuralink, a company he founded, has successfully administered a brain implant to its first human patient.

The achievement follows a series of delays, as Neuralink commenced patient recruitment for a clinical trial in the autumn, subsequent to securing approvals from both the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and a hospital ethics board.

The primary objective of Neuralink’s research involves the creation of a brain-computer interface, a groundbreaking device intended to establish a connection between the human brain and computer technology.

While Musk’s vision is a symbiotic relationship between humanity and artificial intelligence, the initial phase focuses on a more modest goal: To empower individuals with paralysis, particularly those suffering from quadriplegia due to cervical spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), to regain control over a cursor or keyboard using their brain signals.

Eligible participants for the study must be at least 22 years old, and Neuralink expects its research to span a six-year duration.

Neuralink will employ a specialized surgical robot to precisely implant the device into the region of the brain responsible for controlling movement intention. This coin-sized implant is designed to capture and transmit neural signals wirelessly to an accompanying app, which can then decode them. The device uses 1,000 electrodes distributed across 64 threads, each finer than a human hair.

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Elon Musk’s recent post highlighted that the patient was in a state of recovery and indicated promising results in the detection of neuron spikes. However, it may take several months to assess whether the patient can effectively utilize the implant to control computers or other devices.

While the specifics of the Neuralink surgical procedure are presently limited to Musk’s single tweet, the development represents a significant milestone in the evolution of brain-computer interfaces, even if it falls short of the ambitious goal of merging humans with AI.

News

Lebanon Ministers Meet Visa Over National Digital Payment Platform

Finance and technology ministers say a comparative study and roadmap will follow before any decision on adopting a model.

Published

4 days ago

May 5, 2026

Joanna Melki

lebanon ministers meet visa over national digital payment platform

Lebanon’s finance and technology ministers met representatives from Visa last week to discuss a proposed unified national digital payment platform for government services, according to a readout from the Ministry of Finance.

The meeting brought together Finance Minister Yassin Jaber, Minister of State for Technology and Artificial Intelligence Kamal Shehadeh, a Visa delegation, and experts from both ministries. Discussion focused on whether Lebanon could establish a single platform through which citizens and institutions would pay taxes, fees, fines and other official transactions electronically, using mobile phones and other digital channels.

The Visa delegation presented examples from countries that have adopted unified government payment platforms, including the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Estonia and Jordan. According to the readout, the examples were presented as having increased collection rates and expanded financial inclusion.

Talks covered settlement mechanisms, direct transfer to the treasury account, financial reconciliation, risk management, cybersecurity, fees, and an operational model that would involve the private sector. The parties agreed to continue technical and institutional consultations, prepare a comparative study, and develop an implementation roadmap before any decision on adopting a model for Lebanon.

Jaber said the Ministry of Finance had already enabled citizens to pay using credit cards and e-wallets through transfer companies, but described the proposed platform as a further step. He framed the development of electronic payment and collection systems as a priority within the ministry’s modernization plan.

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Shehadeh outlined the citizen-facing concept as a single mobile application through which users could settle obligations to ministries, government institutions and other bodies.

“The idea, in short, is that any citizen downloads an application on their mobile phone, through which they can pay all service obligations for all ministries, government institutions, or those owned by the Lebanese state, and others as well, as the platform is not limited only to state institutions,” he said.

Shehadeh added that the platform would not displace banks and money transfer companies that currently provide collection services to the state, calling it complementary to their work.