Elon Musk, billionaire founder of Tesla and Space-X, established Neuralink in 2016, with the goal of creating brain interfaces. The company would develop a microchip-like technology which would be implanted into the brain of the patient with Parkinson's disease, for example, and it would detect impulses and enable them to control their movements better. The eventual goal would be to communicate with a computer via thought alone.
Gertrude
In the Summer of 2020, Musk introduced a pig called Gertrude who had a chip implanted in her brain, developed by Neuralink. The demonstration showed Gertrude snuffling around, eating, and drinking while a screen marking various peaks and dips was displayed and 'bleeps and bloops' sounded out as the data was being collected. Experts suggested that the data itself is of less interest than it might seem. What fascinated them was that Gertrude was not inhibited by the chip itself, and could move and go about as she pleased with the chip recording the data in real-time, which is a breakthrough for this type of technology.
Neuralink is hoping to move to experimenting on humans soon. Exactly what scope they will achieve in coming years is up in the air. Will we be thought-talking to our devices to google the weather? What is without question is how this kind of technology will help a lot of people.
Everyday Life
Reports suggest more people around the world need access to human bionics than currently have it. Those born differently abled or those who have become so, through illness or accident, do get by without this technology, but their lives would be made easier because of it.
There are numerous start-ups and companies around the world trying to help meet the demand. One example is Bristol-based Open Bionics, who are funded by the Tej Kohli Foundation, and provide assistive devices for differently abled people. The 'Hero Arm' is their lead product, currently, as they eventually look to develop technology for other areas of the body. This product is designed to be affordable, as well as highly functional. For those with below-the-elbow limb loss, the multi-grip bionic arms makes a superpower of limb difference, as their mantra goes. The Hero Arm is 3D printed and can be personalised with anything from photo collages of friends and family or to designs inspired by Star Wars or Alita: Battle Angel.
What's Next
Bionic legs are a little further behind than bionic arms. Passive prosthetic legs are common - those which aren't powered. Current bionic ones don't offer any more functionality than passive alternatives, currently. It's a complicated task. Legs need to be more reactive and instant than arms need to be. There are those which are controlled by sensors in the user's muscles - similarly to Open Bionics' Hero Arm - but some companies are trying to develop bionic legs which think for themselves. Obviously, they would be 'thinking' for themselves in so far as the user wouldn't need to be consciously flex certain muscles to walk, much like how abled people walk. The next generation human bionics is beginning to shape up like those from sci-fi stories. They will act because of thought or independent of it.
