This Monday, the company Neuralink He managed to successfully implant one of his brain chips in a person. In a message on his X account, the billionaire Elon Musk He stated that “promising” brain activity had been detected after the procedure and that the patient was “recovering well.”
Billionaire Elon Musk’s company developed the device, called Telepathy, with the aim that this technology helps treat complex neurological ailments. According to experts, this result is significant because there are several companies developing promising products, but only few have managed to implant their devices in humans.
So far, there is no independent verification of Musk’s claims. The Neuralink company, for its part, did not provide information about the procedure either. In a journalistic investigation, the BBC contacted the company and the United States medical regulator, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to request comments. The agency only confirmed the firm’s authorization for this type of experiments.
In that regard, it is known that the procedure involves implanting a small, hermetically sealed chip directly into the patient’s brain. The device is connected to 1,024 tiny electrodes, no thicker than a human hair, and runs on a battery that can be recharged wirelessly. This would create an interface with an external computer, allowing it to send and receive signals.
“The first users will be those who have lost control of their limbs,” added Musk, in another post on his X account, and added: “Imagine that Hawking he could have communicated faster than a typist or an auctioneer. That is the objective.” However, all specialists agree that this technological implementation predisposes to short-term physical risks, long-term medical implications and ethical questions.
In a report from the Reuters agency in December 2022, it was indicated that Neuralink was involved in controversial trials that resulted in the death of around 1,500 animals, including sheep, monkeys and pigs. However, in July 2023, the North American body in charge of investigating animal welfare stated that it had not found any violation of research laws at Musk’s firm.
On the other hand, according to the BBC, other projects have made similar progress in this field. The Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), in Switzerland, made a paralyzed man able to walk just by thinking. This was achieved by placing electronic implants in his brain and spine that communicate thoughts wirelessly to his legs and feet. Details of the breakthrough were published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature in May 2023.
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