It’s no secret that Elon Musk also owns companies like Tesla, SpaceX, and Twitter, which he recently bought for around $44 billion. But, did you know that he is also the boss of a neural interface technology company called Neuralink? Yes, you read it right.
You must be wondering why everyone is talking about it right now. Well, Musk has announced that his company has manufactured a chip that can be embedded in a person’s brain to help people with disabilities. Interestingly, the billionaire also claimed that the chip would be implanted in his brain during a demo. But, what is it and how does it work? Keep reading to know more.
It is an artificial intelligence-powered microchip that can read and record brain activity. It can be used to help disabled people move or communicate properly and for other things. Interestingly, the chip would allow anyone to “use a smartphone with their brain better than someone with paralysis who uses their thumb,” which is what Musk said back in 2016.
Neuralink Chip: How Does It Work?
This is a very small chip that is surgically implanted in a person’s brain. It consists of lots of tiny wires, and each wire is reportedly 20 times thinner than a human hair. These wires, which extend into a person’s brain, are equipped with 1,024 electrodes to monitor brain activity and electrically stimulate the brain. The registered data can be transmitted wirelessly through the chip to computers, which researchers can use for further study.
Neuralink Chip: What Will It Do?
The company has reportedly claimed that the chip can read your thoughts and even let you talk to machines without opening your mouth. Currently, the chip is said to allow people to control basic devices such as smartphones and computers.
“We want to be extremely careful and certain that this device will work well before we put it into a human,” Musk said during a highly anticipated public update on the device.
The company has been working on this technology for a long time and has tried it on animals as well. The Neuralink chip has been successfully implanted in monkey and pig brains. The company announced today that it aims to begin human testing of a brain chip in about six months.
The firm has claimed that its latest technology can cure paralysis, blindness, memory loss and other neurological diseases. It could reportedly enable “superhuman vision” or give people the ability to communicate with machines.
Can this chip be removed? Is it safe?
Earlier this year, the company claimed that it had made several successful attempts and that it was safe to implant in someone’s brain to cure diseases.
“Neuralink is working well in monkeys, and we’re really doing a lot of testing and just confirming that it’s very safe and reliable and that the Neuralink device can be safely removed.”