Man on a mission – Elon Musk wants to invade your brain

IT sounds like something out of a science fiction novel, or perhaps an outlandish Hollywood movie.

Last week, Elon Musk said the first human had received an implant as part of his venture which aims to embed microchips directly into the brain.

Yes, you read that right, it involves the implanting of a microchip in the brain.

It is the first human trial for Musk’s firm, Neuralink, which he founded in 2016, but did not become public knowledge until the following year.

The Tesla and SpaceX founder believes the symbiosis of the human brain and the computer chip could, in the short term, allow paralysed individuals to move limbs or prosthetics, effectively making it possible to walk again.

In a video presentation, he also said it could unlock brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s or dementia.

But it is his suggestions of further applications which really boggle the mind, as Musk believes that these implants could eventually allow the melding of the human brain to Artificial Intelligence.

While the thought of self-driving cars can sound like something which belongs in some far-off future, the prospect of being able to access the internet as easily as you access your memories is breathtaking.

Musk said last year that an initial trial, approved by authorities in the United States, would focus on allowing people to control a computer cursor or keyboard using their thoughts alone.

Neuralink said in September it was recruiting patients with spinal cord injuries. Yet the potential seems limitless, and far more than being able to write text messages using only your mind.

Musk has speculated that, on the medical front, it could be used to treat blindness, schizophrenia, depression, autism and insomnia.

Although people might think that he has been drinking a bit too much of his own tonic, there are reasons to think that some practical applications are entirely possible.

In 2019, Musk announced, to the chagrin of those who he was working alongside, that a monkey had been able to control a computer using its brain alone.

A full demonstration of this was given in 2021, when researchers showed a macaque named Pager playing a video game via its mind. Its reward was a banana smoothie.

Neuroscientists, surprisingly, said this was not particularly impressive, although they admitted that the model of an implant – placed behind the ear – with more than 1,000 electrodes which were mapped across the brain was ‘solid engineering’.

Others said that the idea of brain signals being sent wirelessly has been done before, but that Neuralink had bundled various developments up together into a neat package.

Company politics aside, the idea of implanting a microchip so that you can control technology via your thoughts alone is one that deserves some pondering.

There are also more than a few ethical problems with the idea of performing brain surgery on a patient for something other than essential treatment.

Considering how he has fared with his buy-up of Twitter, which is now called X, I’m not sure I would want to be among the first to have a Neuralink chip embedded into my brain.

Yet once upon a time, the idea of having a machine control our heart rate would have been unthinkable, and yet having a pacemaker fitted is not really a big deal these days – the same as if you have a replacement hip or knee, or even laser eye surgery.

But when you can monitor the very thoughts someone is having, some questions might be asked. We live in a remarkable age.