Contentious public figure, Elon Musk is working on a new project titled Neuralink. This is a brain-chip that can perform tasks such as control a mouse cursor. The goal of this innovation is to treat serious brain diseases with a potential end goal of human enhancement.
Neuralink was founded in 2016 by Musk and a team of seven scientists and engineers. In April of 2017, the company announced their ambitions to change the future of neuromedicine and their eventual mission of human enhancement, which they refer to as “transhumanism.” Elon Musk has stated that the idea of “Neuralink” originated from the concept of “neural lace” from a fictional universe in a book named “The Culture,” a nine book series by Iain M. Banks.
In 2022, the FDA rejected an application Neuralink sent requesting approval to engage in human testing and in May of 2023, they received FDA approval for human clinical trials. As of last month, they have successfully implanted a chip on the first human patient after opening up their first human trials in September. The patient is now able to control a computer mouse using their thoughts. “Progress is good, and the patient seems to have made a full recovery, with no ill effects that we are aware of. Patient is able to move a mouse around the screen by just thinking,” Musk said on social media platform X.
