Wide field and deep mystery: these have always been the almost mystical ingredients of Neuralink, the startup by Elon Musk who aims to connect the human brain to the computer.
At one o'clock this night (Italian time) the last act in chronological order took place: a first Neuralink demo, the presentation of a real process and functioning scenario.
Elon Musk demonstrated Neuralink's technology live using pigs with surgically implanted brain monitoring devices.
Neuralink Demo: Not for Funds, but to Enlist
The purpose of the entire presentation, the tycoon said, was recruiting, not fundraising or any other type of promotion. “We're not trying to raise money or do anything, but the main purpose is to get great people to come work at Neuralink and help us bring the product to fruition, making it accessible and reliable and so that anyone who wants to can have one.”
Musk went on to say that the reason he wants to make Neuralink technology available to everyone is that almost everyone will have some kind of neurological problem over time. Memory loss, anxiety, brain damage, depression and a long list of other ailments. Of course, there's no clear evidence that any of this long list of problems can be quickly and easily "solved" with any one solution, so it's a little hard to see this as a reasonable end goal for the company.
The goal is ambitious (and certainly subject to many ethical and medical debates) but the technology Musk has shown is much less so.
The first thing you can notice is that the Neuralink implant has changed design and dimensions compared to the one presented last year. A physical profile of the smaller device, so much so that it can be completely hidden under the hair once installed in the skull.
Three little piglets
Musk then called the public's attention to three pigs in nearby pens. The first was still "natural", the second ("Gertrude") had a Neuralink implant, the third had received an implant which was subsequently removed.
After some reluctance from Gertrude to come out of the pen, Musk showed the pig whose implant had been removed. The aim was to make the public (seated at a safe distance on club tables) understand that the animal had not suffered any damage either from the implant or from its removal.
Returning to Gertrude, Musk showed off a display that played a sound and showed a visual spike whenever the implant detected contact between the pig's snout and food.
Link's first data
Link, this is the name of the small system, has a battery capable of lasting all day (and recharging during the night). Its range is long enough to interact with a phone. It will therefore be possible to keep track of the system's activity through an app and the inevitable Bluetooth.
The news, however, is different, despite the various phases of the presentation. The US FDA in July designated Neuralink as a breakthrough device.
This designation accelerates the authorizations by the American authority for the first human implantation.
Neuralink demo: what can be done
The one shown tonight was just a reading device: receiving data from signals in the pig's brain. The plan is to provide reading and writing skills, with the goal of addressing a wide variety of neurological problems.
The possibilities of Neuralink devices are many. Not only those of correcting neurological problems (in truth I see them more deferred over time).
You will be able to "call" your Tesla with your mind, or control video games with your mind. One year later, the steps forward do not seem small, but the feeling is that we are still in the starting blocks.
