What makes Neuralink such a big deal ?

Welcome to our blog, readers. Today's topic might end up being more interesting than any blog entries before. Today we will be discussing about a company named Neuralink and it's potential to bring new technological revolution, founded by World's 2nd richest person, (Src:https://www.investopedia.com) Elon Musk. 

 

We will be going over what is Neuralink, what's the big deal about it and what difference it might or possibly will bring in our future. 

So, Gear up as we are going to dive in today's topic "What makes Neuralink such a big deal".

What is Neuralink?

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Neuralink Corporation is a neurotechnology company, developing implantable brain–machine interfaces (BMIs) founded by Elon Musk and others. 

The company's headquarters is in San Francisco. The company was launched in 2016 and was first publicly reported in March 2017.

Neuralink a technology that can help people interact with machines using their brains. Elon Musk's ambitious project to connect the human brain to the Internet in order to control machines is about to be launched commercially.

 

What is its aim & How it works ?

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In April 2017, Neuralink announced that its goal was to manufacture devices for the short-term treatment of severe brain diseases with the ultimate goal of human enhancement, sometimes called transhumanism. Musk had said his interest in the idea was due in part to the science fiction concept of the "neural lace" in the fictional universe in The Culture, a 10-novel series by  Iain M. Banks.

The chip, which Neuralink calls the "Link," will wirelessly connect the brain to the digital world, starting by connecting to a smart phone. The resulting computing power, according to Musk, will allow humans to be broadly competitive with rapidly developing AI.

 

Since its founding, the company has hired several high-profile neuroscientists from various universities.In May 2021, co-founder and president Max Hodak announced that he no longer works with the company.

What has it achieved till date?

In 2019, during a live presentation at the California Academy of Sciences, the Neuralink team introduced the public to the technology of the first prototype they had worked on, a system of ultra-fine probes inserted into the brain, a robotic neurosurgeon who will perform the operations, and a high-density electronic system that can process information from neurons, based on technology developed at UCSF and UC Berkeley.

Neuralink said they developed a robot capable of quickly inserting many flexible probes into the brain, avoiding the tissue damage and longevity problems associated with larger, more rigid probes. 
Neuralink developed an Application Specific Integrated circuit (ASIC) to create a 1,536 channel recording system that aims to convert the information received from neurons into an intelligible binary code for a better understanding of brain function and the ability to stimulate these neurons back.

In July 2020, according to Musk, Neuralink obtained a FDA breakthrough device designation which allows limited human testing under the FDA guidelines for medical devices.

 

As today's brain-computer interfaces require a metal plug protruding from the skull for cables to pass through, Neuralink adopted wireless communication, a crucial step towards a safe and usable medical device.

So far, years after its formation, Neuralink has produced little to no evidence that it can treat depression, insomnia, or a dozen other illnesses that Musk mentioned on a slide. One challenge for the company is perfecting the micro wires that can withstand the "corrosive" context of a living brain for a decade. This problem alone could take years to resolve.

Many say the main goal of the broadcast demo was instead to generate excitement, recruit engineers for the company (which already employs around 100 people), and build the kind of fan base that has cheered on Musk’s other ventures and has helped propel the gravity-defying stock price of electric-car maker Tesla.

 

In April 2021, Neuralink demonstrated a monkey playing the game "Pong" using the Neuralink implant. While similar technology has existed since 2002, when a research group first demonstrated a monkey moving a computer cursor with neural signals, scientists acknowledged the engineering progress in making the implant wireless and increasing the number of implanted electrodes.

Some Concerns & Conclusion

Neuralink's main concern today is the vulnerability of its chip to malicious hacks and attacks, an issue that will be particularly significant to its users and the business due to "digital death".

 

In addition to Neuralink, other so-called “neurotechnologies” are available or in development, including brain stimulation to change mental states, which also raises hypothetical questions about criminal liability, ”said a university article from Sydney.

How Brain Computer Interface (BCI) can alter self-perception needs to be examined. Is the BCI an extension of the user or is it merely a tool? How does it influence or interact with the user's personality? To what extent is the user responsible for the decisions made by the interface Many such questions remained unanswered.

Neuralink is undeniably the future technology, that can heal multiple disorders. But Musk and his team are not vocal about their project at Neuralink, leaving the public in speculation about it's pros and cons.

Can this futuristic technology really stand up to the demands and needs in the future? that is something that is not possible to say more about at this stage.

(Src:https://neuralink.com/)

 

Expecting this came to you as a fascinating read, while instilling and intrigue you about new futuristic technologies that might possibly change our future lives forever.

 

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