One of Elon Musk’s businesses, Neuralink, conducted a demonstration on November 30 in which it claimed to show a monkey with one of the company’s brain implants typing with just its mind.
Neuralink has attracted attention for its lofty goals of developing a fully implantable, cosmetically invisible brain-computer interface. However, criticism from animal rights groups about how it tests its product spread.
This is despite not having the same level of notoriety as other Musk-owned businesses like Tesla, SpaceX, and Twitter.
Fake Neuralink Claims Spread on Twitter
Elon Musk’s Neuralink implants have killed approximately 3000 monkeys since last December, with a 98% death rate, according to a screenshot that was repeatedly uploaded on Twitter and said to be from a USA TODAY story. However, other users commented that the screenshots might have been fabricated.
Musk believes he won’t have to wait too long to fulfill his pledge. The event’s wealthy speaker said that Neuralink will be prepared to start human trials within the next six months, saying that the US Food and Drug Administration’s permission was the main holdup.
Before this article was published, Insider contacted a Neuralink official for comment, but they did not answer.
Since 2019, Musk has consistently predicted the start date for Neuralink’s brain-implanting technology and missed it.
Neuralink has conducted tests on animals, such as pigs and monkeys, rather than on humans up to this point. In a demo film from the previous year, Musk displayed a monkey utilizing the gadget to mentally control a computer game. This year, he offered a video of a monkey telepathically typing while wearing an implant.
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Chip Implants
A competitor to Neuralink Synchron began conducting human trials in Melbourne, Australia, in 2019 and implanted its first device earlier this year than Musk’s business.
The technology has purportedly enabled patients to purchase online and compose text messages using only their minds. It has been implanted in several severely paralyzed US patients.
Both businesses are aiming to develop chip implants that can read and write brain activity to develop brain-computer interfaces.
In the past, Musk has described the brain-machine interface as a Fitbit in your skull and said it could do anything from heal paralysis to grant individuals psychic abilities.
The entrepreneur stated on Wednesday that he thinks the technology could help those who were born blind regain their vision.
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