Elon Musk's Neuralink Shares Video of Monkey Telepathically Typing: Is This Technology Ready To Be Tested in Humans?

Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, CEO of Texas, and Twitter's newest owner recently hosted a show-and-tell event on Wednesday night, November 30, for his brain computer interface (BCI) startup Neuralink. His company has been proposing using brain implants that are connected to a computer.

The event showcased a video of a monkey with a brain implant while telepathically typing letters on a screen. The monkey can be seen looking at the screen as a cursor is being controlled by the brain implant to type on the computer.

The Goal of Neuralink's Show-and-Tell

Neuralink's showcased technology a few days ago is not considered a brand-new technology, as per 9News. Many researchers in the past decades have been working on devices that can decode brain signals for practical uses. for example, there was a brain implant that allows a person to type words or play video games with only their brain.

Experts said that what Neuralink was able to bring to the table is a slicker wireless interface that makes it less chunky than existing brain implants. For instance, Utah arrays that allow patients to control robotic arms or type letters are bulky and protrude out of the skull, and it physically needs to be connected to a computer.

Musk clarified that the primary goal of the show-and-tell event was to recruit new talent for his BCI startup. He said that most people believe that becoming part of the Neuralink team means they should know about biology or how the brain works. But he said that it is not the case.

The Neuralink CEO said that they want to emphasize that those who wish to be part of Neuralink need not be knowledgeable in those areas since the skills needed for the company are the same skills that are needed to make a smartwatch or modern phones.

Is It Ready for Human Trials?

Musk showed a video of a telepathic typing from a monkey with a Neuralink brain implant. The monkey was not using a keyboard to type in words, rather a cursor is moving to click letters on the screen.

He said that the monkey cannot spell and was not able to decipher the meaning of the letters typed. It was simply moving the cursor on the letters on the screen, Futurism reported

Now, Elon Musk said that the implant should be ready to test its technology in six months. The company has already submitted pertinent documents to the US Food and Drug Administration for approval. In 2019, Musk said that his company has been planning to seek FDA's approval for human testing and predicted that it could be in 2020.

Musk said that he is confident that the Neuralink device is ready for humans and only needs FDA's approval to continue testing. The Wall Street Journal reported that the company has also addressed concerns about the device overheating or having toxic chemicals seeping into the brain, both of which could cause serious damage.

Musk said that the implants are compact and that he would even be comfortable in getting one now as he teases the possibility that he would have it in the future for demonstration. Neuralink's goal is to restore vision and enable people with severe disabilities to be able to communicate or move by decoding brain activity.

Check out more news and information on Neuralink in Science Times.