(Newswire.net— May 15, 2020) — While those interested in Neuralink waited to see how much progress has been made in the last couple of years in creating an interface for the human brain to interact with computers, the results that have arrived are much better than expected, Russia Today reports.
A new technology presented by billionaire Elon Musk indeed keeps pace with the most exotic science fiction scenarios. Namely, the company owned by Elon Musk claims to have created a robot that can integrate implants for interaction with computers deep into the human brain.
The results were obtained based on testing on lab rats whose brains were implanted with 1,500 electrodes. The results cannot yet be claimed with certainty to function in the human brain, the Neuralink company said in a statement. However, if it proves to be functional, the technology could be used to restore mobility, sight, and the ability to speak and hear to those who have lost them.
Elon Musk, on the other hand, claims that the connection of brains with computers will be the only way to keep up with the development of artificial intelligence. Otherwise, AI would evolve beyond humans’ ability to control it, which poses a substantial danger to humankind.
With brain enhancements, the technology that was conceived for use in medicine could serve as something far more powerful, Elon Musk said.
In that context, it was announced that testing on human subjects is expected in the first part of 2020, and implants that measure a quarter of the volume of human hair will be integrated into brain tissue with the help of needles to help avoid blood vessel damage.
Such built-in sensors should capture signals from the brain, and send them to a receiver – a chip that is installed on the upper surface of the skull, and from there the information is transmitted wirelessly to the intended device, allowing the user control with his mind.
Next to Neuralink story, Researchers in Texas have taken a huge step towards restoring ‘sight’ to the visually impaired, by bypassing the eyes altogether and relaying information directly to the brain via a system of electrodes, Russia Today reports.
“Even under a benign AI, we will be left behind. With a high bandwidth brain-machine interface, we will have the option to go along for the ride,” Elon Musk stressed.
The team at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, led by Daniel Yoshor, tested their system on four sighted people and two blind people to compare results. Allegedly, all subjects were able to correctly identify the specific letters that were “traced” directly on their brains, thanks to the implants similar to those described by Neuralink.
“The concept isn’t new…However, Elon Musk doesn’t want to stick with what is already possible,” said Andrew Hires, an assistant professor of neurobiology at the University of California. Dr. Rylie Green of The London Imperial College for Business joined Hires in skepticism. She noted that the material used to make the threads is a quite commonly used polymer in the field.
One big problem with floppy wires is they can be difficult to thread into the brain, thus Neuralink has invented a new hi-tech machine for threading wires into the grey matter.
The probes would be inserted into the brain by a device not dissimilar to a sewing machine, which would use a stiff needle to poke the threads into place about 1 millimeter into the outer surface of the brain, or the cortex, the Business Insider reports.