Can the Brain Chip from Elon Musk Actually Read Your Mind?

 

In 2020, as he described the potential applications of the brain implants created by his neurotechnology firm Neuralink, Elon Musk predicted that the future would be strange.

The business has spent the last seven years creating a computer chip that will be inserted into the brain and track the action of thousands of neurons there.The chip, which is referred to as a "brain-computer interface" (BCI), is made up of a small probe with more than 3,000 electrodes connected by flexible threads that are thinner than human hair.

Musk wishes to connect the brain to computers so that data and memories can be downloaded from deep within the mind, similar to what happened in the science fiction movie The Matrix from 1999.

Musk has expressed aspirations to use Neuralink to develop human telepathy, which he claims would help humanity win a battle against artificial intelligence. This is in addition to using the technology to try and treat conditions like blindness and paralysis.

He added that he wishes people to have "super vision" thanks to technology.

Or is it reality?

All of this is possible? Simple reply: No.\

We are unable to discern people's minds. According to Giacomo Valle, a neural engineer at the University of Chicago in the US, the quantity of information that we can decode from the brain is very constrained.It's difficult to picture BCIs reading our thoughts in the near future, according to Juan Alvaro Gallego, a BCI researcher at Imperial College London in the UK.

BCI Clinical Applications based on reality

In 2019, Musk made the Neuralink technology public for the first time by presenting a pig with a Neuralink chip implanted in its brain and a video of a monkey using its thoughts to control a ping-pong paddle.But the possibility of BCIs extends far beyond the realm of amusement for animals.

According to Gallego, the technology was initially created to assist people who were paralysed due to spinal injuries or conditions like Locked-in syndrome, in which a patient is completely conscious but is only able to move their eyes to communicate.According to Gallego, "it would be life-changing if you [could] translate their internal communication into words on a computer."In these situations, BCIs are made to capture electrical signals from motor cortex neurons and then transmit those signals to a computer for text-based display.It is uncommon to believe that the motor cortex is engaged in thought. Instead, it is the location where commands to move, such as the tongue and jaw muscle movements for speaking, are sent to the body.A motor plan, or more specifically, the culmination of all the processing in various parts of the brain (sensory, linguistic, and cognitive) needed to move or speak, is what the electrodes are actually recording.Therefore, BCIs are more likely to capture your brain's intention to move a finger here, a leg there, or open your mouth to make a "Aah" sound than your actual thoughts.

BCIs Aid in Restoring Feeling

Another milestone was reached in 2016 when Nathan Copeland's robotic hand was shaken by former US president Barack Obama.After being involved in a vehicle accident, Copeland became paralysed. She felt Obama's handshake as if they were touching skin to skin.This illustrated a distinct BCI capability. They stimulated the brain with tiny currents to create sensation rather than using electrodes to record from the brain and decode intended movements, according to Gallego.In Copeland's instance, the Utah array BCI was inserted into his brain to enhance the functionality of a damaged portion of his nervous system.His sensory cortex was implanted with a device made by a Neuralink competitor, and sensors on the extremity of his robotic hand were linked to it.When Copeland and Obama shook hands, those sensors transmitted signals that caused electrodes in the sensory cortex to fire up the brain's "hand" region, enabling Copeland to "feel" the president's hand.With these new features, BCIs are the next evolution of deep brain stimulation, a movement disorder treatment that includes implanting electrodes in specific regions of the brain.These innovations have been in use for some time. Since the 1990s, deep brain stimulation has aided countless numbers of Parkinson's patients, according to Gallego.

Does Everyone Need Brain Surgery?

Since Neuralink's technology has only been tested on animals, BCIs like the Utah array are currently only used in unique, exceptional instances like Copeland's.

All of the clinical BCI applications are still in the study phase and have not yet been put into use in clinical practice, according to Valle.

Last year, Neuralink attempted to obtain authorization from US federal drug regulators to try its technology in human trials; however, the company was dealt a blow when the application was denied due to serious safety concerns.

96 tiny, flexible probes that must each be separately inserted into the brain make up the device.Brain operation is no laughing matter. Even if the invasive procedure needed to connect a BCI to the brain goes smoothly, there is still a chance that the device could become infected or experience immune "rejection" for a very long time after implantation.Later this year, Musk's business reportedly plans to perform human clinical trials.

Development of Neuroethics

BCIs pose "a variety of ethical concerns" in the long run, according to Valle, which will require cautious consideration by researchers, businesses, funding organizations, regulators, and users themselves.The development of neuroethics, a novel area of moral study, is being fueled by technology. The conversation now leans more towards science fiction.What are the repercussions of privacy violations, for instance, when the incriminated data relates to people's thoughts? How can we prevent societal inequality from being made worse by a dearth of access? What would happen if this knowledge could be transmitted straight to the brain? asked Valle.

After all, science fiction's purpose is to prepare us for potential future events.