Elon Musk announced Neuralink performed its first human implant, saying on X, “The first human received an implant from @Neuralink yesterday and is recovering well. Initial results show promising neuron spike detection.”
Musk stated the first Neuralink product is named “Telepathy,” and will enable users to control their smartphone, computer, and other devices, saying on X, “Enables control of your phone or computer, and through them almost any device, just by thinking. 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.”
Neuralink has faced scrutiny over alleged deaths of primates used for implant research. Musk stated terminal monkeys close to death were chosen for early test implants, saying on X, “No monkey has died as a result of a Neuralink implant. First our early implants, to minimize risk to healthy monkeys, we chose terminal moneys (close to death already),”
Scientific American interviewed neuroscience John Donoghue, a Professor at Brown University, who compared the potential advancement in brain implants to the Manhattan Project, saying, “The nature of science is: you never know what’s around the corner. I’m sure you saw Oppenheimer…. There were two potential outcomes of that [first detonation of an atomic bomb]: you’d get a really big boom, or you’d destroy Earth if it didn’t stop. They didn’t know. We don’t know! There are lots of things that have happened that I wouldn’t have ever predicted. The use of communication is much better than I thought it would ever be.”
Future advancements and the potential to merge brain implants with AI raises transhumanism ethical concerns, with some claiming the devices initially developed for treating paraplegia, similar to pacemakers treating cardiac conditions, will be marketed similar to smartphones.
