Could Musk’s microchip really boost brainpower?

HAVING already built futuristic businesses in electric cars and space exploration, Elon Musk’s philosophy would appear to be that anything is possible if you put your mind to it.

And never has that been a more appropriate motto than with his latest venture – microchips that he says will allow humans to control machines using their brains.

The billionaire was last night set to unveil secretive new technology that he has also suggested will one day enable ‘superhuman intelligence’.

The eccentric entrepreneur was due to showcase a prototype device that can be implanted into the skull, with an initial plan of helping change the lives of the sick and disabled, before eventually blurring the line between man and machine.

The 49- year- old Tesla and SpaceX chief has invested more than £80million into a firm called Neuralink, which has been exploring how to connect the human brain to a computer since 2016.

The company was due to unveil its progress in California.

Mr Musk has claimed the his N1 microchip could repair motor function in the paralysed, restore eyesight and hearing, and help those suffering memory loss through dementia and Alzheimer’s.

He has also claimed it could be used to help cure addiction and depression.

But ultimately Mr Musk hopes the technology will allow humans to compete with artificial intelligence by controlling machines with the power of thought.

The process will involve up to four chips being inserted into the skull. While it may sound dangerous, Mr Musk says one day it will be as common and painless as laser eye surgery. The chips will have a network of superfine wires that will pick up signals in the brain and translate them into motor controls.

The signals will be sent to a computer by a device worn behind the ear, similar to a hearing aid.

Mr Musk – who this week became the fourth person in history to hold a personal fortune of 100billion dollars (£75billion) – said he hopes the project will allow humans to ‘achieve symbiosis with artificial intelligence’.

However, experts have questioned some of Mr Musk’s more extraordinary claims.

Dr Dean Burnett, honorary research associate at Cardiff university, said: ‘Restoring sight to the blind would be a bit of a questionable claim... If Musk can do that, he’s considerably more powerful and accomplished than any human in history.’