Neuroscience startup Neuralink, co-founded by Tesla Inc and SpaceX CEO Musk in 2016, on August 28, 2020, unveiled its plan to implant wireless brain-computer interfaces, that include thousands of electrodes in the most complex human organ to help cure neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s, dementia, spinal cord injuries, and ultimately fuse humankind with artificial intelligence, when it introduced a pig, named Gertrude to the world. The animal had a coin-sized computer chip in its brain.
According to Musk the company had three pigs with two implants each, and also revealed a pig that previously had an implant. They were healthy, happy and indistinguishable from a normal pig. Neuralink’s chip could also improve the understanding of neurological diseases by reading brain waves.
Elon Musk described Neuralink’s chip, which is roughly 23 millimeters (0.9 inch) in diameter, as a Fitbit in your skull with tiny wires. Neuroscientists unaffiliated with the company said the presentation indicated that Neuralink had made great strides but cautioned that longer studies were needed. Neuralink’s first clinical trials with a small number of human patients would be aimed at treating paralysis or paraplegia.
The implant’s most important achievement beyond medical applications would be some kind of AI symbiosis where you have an AI extension of yourself. Small devices that electronically stimulate nerves and brain areas to treat hearing loss and Parkinson’s disease have been implanted in humans for decades. Brain implant trials have also been conducted with a small number of people who have lost control of bodily functions due to spiral cord injuries or neurological conditions like strokes.