Elon Musk claims that the first Neuralink patient will be able to use their thoughts to operate a computer mouse.

Elon Musk, the founder of the startup, stated that the first patient to have a brain chip implanted from Neuralink shows up to be fully recovered and capable of using their thoughts to manipulate a computer mouse. “The patient appears to have fully recovered, and progress is good,” Musk stated during a Spaces occasion on X (Twitter). “We are aware of neural effects.” “The patient can navigate the mouse on the screen with just their thoughts.”

According to Musk, Neuralink is currently attempting to elicit from the patient numerous mouse button presses as possible. The patient had the “Telepathy” chip implanted by Neuralink last month, following their approval in September to recruit participants for a human trial. Although the first Neuralink patient’s identity is still unknown, MailOnline has gotten in touch with the company to find out more.

Neuralink’s technology involves using a robot to perform surgery to implant a brain-computer interface in the part of the brain responsible for intention to move. A robot that resembles a sewing machine stitches tiny, flexible threads into the brain, holding a computer chip in place.

The robot makes a small incision in the skull, removes a small piece of it, attaches thread-like electrodes to specific parts of the brain, then stitches up the hole, and leaves only the scar from the incision. Musk stated that patients can go back home the same day after the procedure, which only takes 30 minutes and doesn’t require general anesthesia.

Although Musk claimed the patient is “recovering well,” it is not clear if any of these assurances are applicable to the initial patient who got the implant. Experts expressed grave concerns regarding safety, though, after Musk revealed that the first person had gotten a Neuralink implant. Human trials have begun, which Cardiff University honorary research associate Dr. Dean Burnett described as “disconcerting and alarming” in an interview with MailOnline.

He called it “disturbing and alarming” how quickly Musk went from being uninvolved in neurosurgical dental implants to uttering significant statements on a global scale. The problem is that he has an enormous following of supporters who might volunteer for this sort of activity, and I do believe that to be fairly risky when it comes to inserting objects into people’s bodies.

While Dr. Burnett anticipates that the first patient will probably be safe, he also notes that “because not every procedure will be under the same spotlight,” there is a larger risk that people will see how well this works and quickly implement it.

He continued, saying, “I wouldn’t do it [get an implant], and I would attempt to talk the person who volunteered out of it.” As Musk has put it, “replacing an area of the brain with a smartwatch” is how Neuralink envisions people being able to mentally operate a computer mouse or the keyboard and engage wirelessly with the outside world.

According to the company, it would allow us to express our ideas, worries, hopes, and anxieties without degrading ourselves in words or speech. However, it might also treat other neurological conditions and enable paralyzed individuals to walk again.

Musk claimed that the Telepathy gadget “enables control of your cell phone as well as a computer, along with them nearly any device simply through thinking” in a post on X, the former Twitter. Those who are without the ability to use their limbs will be the first users, he continued.

“What if Stephen Hawking was able to communicate more quickly than an auctioneer or a speed typist?” That’s the aim. Additionally, Musk responded to a question by saying that he would feel at ease having a brain chip implanted in one of his kids. “We’ve reached a stage where, in my view, it wouldn’t be hazardous,” he declared in December 2022.

Neuralink’s PRIME study involves implanting “Telepathy” in humans in an effort to assess the safety of both the implant as well as the surgical robot used to perform the procedure. Elon Musk has high hopes for Neuralink, claiming that it will enable quick surgical placements of its microchip devices to treat disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, obesity, and diabetes.

Nonetheless, Neuralink, which was estimated to be worth $5 billion in the previous year, has frequently come under fire for its safety procedures and use of animals in research. The implant has been tested on animals for the past few years, with varying degrees of success.

The implant has been tested on animals for the past few years, with varying degrees of success. Musk made the Neuralink chip public for the first time in the year 2020 presentation by using a pig identified as Gertrude to demonstrate it. As Gertrude sniffed around her pen, her implant detected her brain signals, which were displayed in real time. During the demonstration, a different pig had an implant in the past, but it was removed and was now leading a “healthy life.”

Musk performed a similar demonstration the following year, this time with a macaque monkey equipped with a neural chip that used its thoughts to play a computer game. Nonetheless, Neuralink denied any animal mistreatment in February 2022 while acknowledging that monkeys had passed away during its tests.

The latter was in response to allegations made in a complaint filed with the US Department of Agriculture by the nonprofit PCRM, which is Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

PCRM expressed concerns in the complaint, citing a monkey with missing toes and fingers that might have been the result of “self-mutilation.” A third monkey had a brain hemorrhage, and the other two had holes drilled in their skulls so that electrodes could be implanted. The complaint claimed that most of the monkeys was to be put to death due to medical procedures.

In an interview with the New York Post, Jeremy Beckham of PCRM stated that “almost all of the monkeys who had head implants experienced pretty debilitating health effects.” Experts caution against using brain implants due to potential privacy concerns, in addition to accusations of animal abuse.

Doctor Susan Schneider, the original director of the recently established Centre for the Future Mind, advised the news channel during April 2021 that if widespread adoption becomes connecting us to the cloud rather than therapies and merging humans with AI, the revenue stream will be for trading our data.

“The highest bidder would purchase our most private thoughts.” Do we also need to pay for a subscription? What if our thoughts are intercepted by hostile entities?

Although this is the first time Neuralink’s technology has been tested on humans, implanting computer brain interface gadgets in people has happened many times before. The BrainGate interface system, created by Brown University, has undergone promising human testing since 2004.

According to a 2021 health review of the patients, none of the implants required removal for medical reasons and none had any significant negative effects on the patients’ health. According to MailOnline, Newcastle University professor of neural networks. interfaces Andrew Jackson speculated that the Neuralink gadget might even be safer than the BrainGate device in certain situations.

He clarified, “One of the major risks associated with the current technology is the “percutaneous” connection, which occurs when wires from the implant pass through the skin. “Because of the possibility of infection, one benefit of Neuralink is its wireless technology.”

Top Related Articles

An anti-woke chatbot was the idea Elon Musk promised. Nothing is going as intended.

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, apologizes to families during a heated US Senate hearing.

The metaverse: what is it? An explanation and comprehensive manual.

The Gemini era: Google has finally launched best ever AI model.

What is SAFU in the world of Crypto? BTC is moved to a new cold wallet by Binance, funding SAFU.