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Elon Musk Announces First Human Neuralink Implant
Although details are scarce, the Neuralink co-founder says initial results look promising.
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.