Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk recently unveiled his new brain chip on a pig called Gertrude. He revealed his plans to develop a functioning brain-to-machine interface.
Elon Musk claims that his neuroscience startup, Neuralink, could get brain implants ready to put inside a patient a year from now. Although he has made similar statements in 2019, this time he has produced a demonstration on a pig.
In order for the chip to interface with some parts of the brain, it would be directly placed into the skull.
The Tesla founder described the chip as “a Fitbit in your skull with tiny wires,”. He added that “It actually fits quite nicely in your skull. It could be under your hair and you wouldn’t know.”
Watch the full reveal on Elon Musk’s brain chip test live on a pig
Founded in 2016, Neuralink is Elon Musk’s neuroscience tech company which specialises in the development of implants to interface in a direct manner with the human brain.
The neuroscience startup, Neuralink, is proud to announce that it expects its first patient “within a year” as the Tesla founder revealed on Joe Rogan’s podcast.
“There’s still a lot of work to do,” Elon said to Rogan. “So when I say, you know, we’ve probably got a shot at putting it in a person, you know, within a year. I think, that’s exactly what I mean, I think we have a chance of putting input in one end, having them be healthy, and restoring some functionality that they’ve lost.”
The chip has the initial goal of treating brain injury and trauma. It would have the potential to restore senses such as eyesight, hearing but also limb movement as well as tackling brain diseases. By placing it into the skull, it would enable the electrode threads to be in contact with some parts of the brain.
“It could, in principle, fix anything that’s wrong with the brain” the CEO of Tesla added.
The chip would allow people with neuro problems to control computers and phones with their mind.In the long term, Elon Musk has hopes to create a device that could potentially enable “symbiosis” between AI and humans.
Women Love Tech would like to thank Ines Besbes for her article.
