Neuralink
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| Elon Musk |
What is Neuralink?
Elon Musk wants to control machines with just the power of thought. To that end, in July 2019 Musk and his team revealed that they had developed ultrafine ‘threads’ that can be woven into your brain to listen in on your neurons. The company has also built a robot that can perform the delicate surgery, under the supervision of a neurosurgeon.
When the company was first launched in 2016, Musk said he wanted to help humans compete in a world where artificial intelligence had surpassed them – to give us more ‘bandwidth’. But with this new announcement the researchers have turned their attention to helping those with brain-related disorders.
How does it work?
The N1, a 4mm-square chip, is implanted into the skull. Attached to the chip are wires thinner than a human hair, which reach out into the brain. These threads are placed close to important parts of the brain and are able to detect messages as they are relayed between neurons, recording each impulse and stimulating their own. Neuralink says the N1 is able to connect with 1,000 different brain cells, and that a patient might have as many as 10 N1 chips implanted.
The chips connect wirelessly to a wearable device that hooks over the user’s ear, much like a hearing aid, and contains a Bluetooth radio and a battery.
Neuralink says the first devices will be implanted via traditional neurosurgery, but eventually the chips will be inserted safely and virtually painlessly through small incisions by a robot surgeon.
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