Neuralink

Monkey with Neuralink chip inside brain 'can play video games with his mind,' says Elon Musk

Monkey with Neuralink chip inside brain 'can play video games with his mind,' says Elon Musk

Featured Image Source: iStockphoto - Lise Gagne

Elon Musk, the founder of Neuralink, SpaceX and CEO of Tesla, discussed a variety of topics on the voice-only social network Clubhouse on Sunday night. Musk revealed incredible details about his neuro-tech company to thousands of listeners who were invited. Neuralink is a project that aims to solve a wide-range of brain issues via a Brain Machine Interface (BMI) device that is actively underdevelopment called ‘Link’. The coin-sized chip features a bit over one thousand electrode threads that are implanted into the brain where the thin electrodes can stimulate neurons. Neuralink aims to enable paralyzed individuals to control electronic devices with their ‘thoughts’. The company has been testing the technology on animals. In August last year it showcased how the Link chip works on pigs. Read more in the article linked below. 

 

 

During the Clubhouse discussion Musk shared Neuralink also implanted a Link chip inside a monkey’s brain. “We have a monkey with a wireless implant in their skull with tiny wires who can play video games with his mind,” Musk said. “You can’t see where the implant is and he’s a happy monkey. We have the nicest monkey facilities in the world.” Neuralink is trying to see if the technology can enable monkeys to play with each other through their thoughts, like telepathically. –“We want them to play mind-Pong with each other. […] That would be pretty cool,” he said. “You can't even see where the neural implant was put in, except that he's got a slight like dark mohawk,” he added. Musk says that in around a month the neuro-tech company will 'probably' be ready to show the public how the monkey equipped with the brain chip plays video games with his thoughts. 

Neuralink aims to increase the rate at which information travels from primates’ thoughts to machines to eventually connect humans to Artificial Intelligence (AI). “With a direct neural interface, we can improve the bandwidth between your cortex and your digital tertiary layer by many orders of magnitude. I'd say probably at least 1,000, or maybe 10,000, or more,” he explained. But before the internet of things moves directly into our brains, Musk said Neuralink’s current goal is treating those with brain and spinal injuries. He also took advantage of Clubhouse discussion that attracted thousands of listeners to recruit at Neuralink –“If somebody listening is good at designing Fitbit, Apple Watches, phones, computers of various kinds, then, actually, they would be a great fit for Neuralink,” Musk stated. The company is currently hiring, you can apply at: https://neuralink.com/careers/ . Open job positions in California and Texas. Learn more about Neuralink in the article linked below. 

 

 

About the Author

Evelyn Arevalo

Evelyn Arevalo

Evelyn J. Arevalo joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover news as a Space Journalist and SpaceX Starbase Texas Correspondent. Evelyn is specialized in rocketry and space exploration. The main topics she covers are SpaceX and NASA.

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