First human has received Elon Musk’s Neuralink brain chip implant with ‘terrified’ fans warning ‘first cyborg is born’
ELON Musk has divided fans after announcing that his controversial Neuralink brain chip has been implanted in a human.
The Neuralink tech aims to enable someone to control their phone or another device with their mind, according to Musk.
"Initial results show promising neuron spike detection."
The Tesla boss followed the huge news by explaining how the technology works.
He said that the first Neuralink product is called Telepathy.
"Enables control of your phone or computer, and through them almost any device, just by thinking," he wrote.
"Initial users will be those who have lost the use of their limbs.
"Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a speed typist or auctioneer. That is the goal."
The company previously said that the Neuralink mission is to restore autonomy to individuals who have "unmet medical needs," with a vision to "unlock human potential" in the future.
Neuralink got FDA clearance for its first human clinical trials in May, with the company initially wanting to test on 10 humans, though that number has since changed to six.
The brain chip has 1,000 electrodes and hopes to help people wirelessly perform computer functions simply by thinking via a “think-and-click” mechanism.
Neuralink, a start-up founded by Musk in 2016, said in November that it was looking for quadriplegics under 40 years old to take part in the human trials.
FINAL FRONTIERS?
Standing for "Precise Robotically IMplanted brain-computer InterfacE," the study asked for people "living with quadriplegia due to spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)," to consider being the first to receive the implant.
CONTROVERSIAL TESTING
In April 2021, Neuralink shocked the world with video of a Macaque, known as Pager, with one of the chips playing Pong.
The animal was seen using a joystick manually and then operating it with only its mind via a wireless connection with the chip.
Neuralink reportedly implanted Bluetooth-enabled chips into the brains of several monkeys to see if they could communicate with computers through a small receiver.
About 1,500 animals - including more than 280 sheep, pigs, and monkeys - reportedly died as a result of Neuralink tests since 2018, the outlet reported, citing records it reviewed.
The company was accused of subjecting animals to "extreme suffering" - with one monkey having holes drilled in its skull.
Experiments allegedly left 15 out of 23 monkeys dead.
In one instance, a monkey was found missing some fingers and toes, possibly caused by self-mutilation, legal papers claimed.
Another case revealed a female macaque monkey had electrodes implanted into its brain, which caused it to be overcome with vomiting, retching, and gasping.
An autopsy later showed the monkey suffered from a brain hemorrhage.
Bloody skin infections, monkeys collapsing, and other horrific side effects were also recorded in the results, according to court papers.
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Neuralink conducted its monkey experiments in partnership with scientists at the University of California, Davis.
"No monkey has died as a result of a Neuralink implant. First, our early implants, to minimize risk to healthy monkeys, we chose terminal monkeys (sic) (close to death already)," Musk replied to a meme on X.