Elon Musk, ever one to test the limits of what is possible, has hit a new high, or low depending on how you look at it, in experimental science, and his company Neuralink, which specializes in creating brain chips, is reportedly planning to begin human trials on its newest scheme.
What is Neuralink?
As mentioned, Neuralink is Musk‘s company that studies the brain – his own brain child, if you will. Musk, who taught himself rocket science, has long been intrigued by science of the brain, and is constantly pushing what science can do for humanity. His company works to understand the brain better, which as we all know has long been a successful venture, as humans are famously capable of understanding the simple organ.
What Does Neuralink Do, Exactly?
Neuralink‘s main project at the moment is “Designing the first neural implant that will let you control a computer or mobile device anywhere you go,” per its website. That’s right, with this chip implanted in your brain, if all goes as Mr. Musk plans, you will be able to control your devices from your brain.
Mask has also taken to his social media to discuss this, as he often does, and has shared on Twitter that the product can even be helpful for people who are suffering from paralysis, and that they will be able to use phones. The billionaire also believes that this technology will allow paraplegics to someday regain ambulatory function.
Is This as Good as It Sounds?
With this development, it seems that we are all about to be living in the world that Elon Musk has been living in for years, but it leads us to question whether we really want to live in that world. Sure, it would be amazing to see paraplegics walk again, and it would be incredible to control things from our brains, but that begs the question: does the world really need this?
If Musk is able to develop a chip to use, surely there must be another way to rehabilitate paraplegics that allows them to walk again, one that doesn’t involve implanting an electronic foreign object into the body.
If this venture is to work, will we all have to undergo neurosurgery to receive this chip? Will this be affordable for the 99%, or will it be another enterprise, like space travel, that’s only available to those of Musk’s socioeconomic status? Has Musk considered the effects of having such a chip implanted into our brains? Musk is likely to learn much of this after completing human trials, but how many people are signing up to participate?
With great technology comes great possibility, but that possibility needs to be weighed against necessity. Is the human race actually going to benefit from this? The idea may seem as shiny as the chip Musk wants to implant in our brains, but we might have hit the technological point in human history where just because we can doesn’t mean we should.
Sources
https://www.ign.com/articles/elon-musk-brain-chip-neuralink-tech-preparing-human-trials
