Conquering the entire universe, one industry at a time is probably the mantra that Elon Musk lives by. His New Year resolutions are perhaps inundated with plans to leave his footprint within the boundaries of every sphere in the world and even outside of it. This time around Musk’s empire’s latest headline, Neuralink; a brain implant startup, is venturing out into implantable vision chips.
A few months ago, Neuralink was granted its first approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to launch itself into recruiting patients to kick things off for their human trial in the US. This came after the same body had refused to grant Musk the liberty of pursuing his dream of implanting a chip in humans’ brains. Neuralink, among several enterprises engaged in brain-computer interface (BCI) development for brain signal collection and analysis, has been a breeding ground for scepticism and ethical reservations from neuroscientists and experts. This is because the wires attached to the brain chip were deemed unsafe and also because of numerous other safety concerns.
The reason why Neuralink made a comeback into the public discourse is because, according to reports, there is not just one but thousands of people who are willing to get their brains experimented on.
Latest developments in Neuralink
In September, Neuralink commenced its recruitment process for its human trial. The company announced that they were scouting for individuals with paralysis in all four limbs, typically caused by spinal cord injuries or ALS. While the initial aim is to assist people with neurological disorders, a bi-product that they expect to work on is the relationship between humans and machines, permitting individuals to communicate or engage in activities using their thoughts.
As mentioned in Business Insider, Ashlee Vance; Musk’s biographer who penned the book “Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future” states that despite there being a long line of candidates who are volunteering to take part in the experiment, the company is still on the lookout for one. The condition that needs to be met by the person that they handpick is that they must be willing to undergo a craniectomy, a surgical procedure where a portion of their skull is removed to allow a large robot to insert a series of electrodes and ultra-thin wires into their brain. The craniectomy takes around a couple of hours to perform, followed by about 25 minutes for the robot to insert the device, which includes an ultra-thin array of approximately 64 threads (the threads are incredibly thin, about 1/4th the width of a human hair strand). This device replaces the section of the skull that was taken out. The objective is to exhibit the chip’s ability to gather valuable data (thoughts) from the specific region of the patient’s brain and translate them into various commands that a computer can act upon.
The latest update on Neuralink is how they are investing in developing an implant that could restore vision to people with considerably challenging visual impairments in the coming years. Musk mentioned this project as the next step in achieving telepathic communication between phones and computers for individuals who have lost their physical connection to the outside world.
Elon Musk is not hesitating
While the enthusiasm that Musk brings to the table about Neuralink can be contagious, it is also misleading. It is said that since 2018 Neuralink has conducted experiments that led to the death of approximately 1500 animals in its efforts to connect brains with computer interfaces, according to company records reviewed by Reuters. Many of these animals were larger mammals, like monkeys and pigs, which have brains closer in size and structure to humans. For example, one monkey with a Neuralink implant scratched at the site of the implant, causing bleeding, and pulled on the wires connected to the device until it partially came out of its head, ultimately leading to the euthanization of the animal. And this was just one of many other cases as such.
Neuralink has been subjected to the wrath of animal rights organisations. However, employees of the company argue that the animals receive high-quality care and enjoy more natural lives compared to typical laboratory settings. Even despite the warnings and the red flags being waved right in the face of authorities, regulatory bodies have granted approval for Neuralink to conduct human implants starting in 2024, indicating that they are satisfied with the safety data. The anticipation and inflating interest from investors in brain-machine interfaces have reached a new high. Especially because of the promises that Neuralink makes. While other companies involved in the same trade are taking things slow, with all eyes being on Neuralink, Musk is under immense pressure for it to succeed.
(Sandunlekha Ekanayake)