Elon Musk’s Brain Implant Coming: What Are the Risks?

Contact Your Elected Officials
The Epoch Times Header

Elon Muskโ€™s brain implant promises to be available to the average person and eliminate a host of ailments. Learn whatโ€™s involved.

Imagine searching Google with your mind, committing your thoughts to a journal without lifting a finger, and directing superhuman robotic strength. Imagine: all of your thoughts decoded into a language compatible with computers. Running through a server. Controlled byโ€”hopefully, someone whoโ€™s trustworthy.

Consider all that, and you have a taste for the context surrounding Neuralink.

The brainโ€“computer interface (BCI) company Neuralink recently announced it had received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance to start trials implanting brain chips in humans. For those who havenโ€™t been following, Neuralink was started by Elon Musk in 2016 to develop microchips that can send and receive data directly from the human brain.

The subject is undeniably fascinating and very portentous. However, as with many frontier scientific topics, this emergent technology has risks and concerns. As Spidermanโ€™s Uncle Ben once said: โ€œWith great power comes great responsibility.โ€

What Is the Neuralink Chip?

The Neuralink chip is a small piece of hardware a little wider and thicker than a quarter. Attached to the chip are 64 wires, each just a few microns thick and with 16 microscopic electrodes on it. (For reference, a micron is one-fifteenth the width of a single hair.)

Part of how brain cells communicate is by sending tiny electrical impulses. For this reason, clinicians and scientists use devices with electrodesโ€”most commonly, a noninvasive encephalography (EEG) capโ€”to gauge brain activity by measuring cell signaling.

It follows that if neurons use electrical impulses to coordinate their functions, then we can also affect brain function by sending impulses from an electrode to the cells. In some serious neurological casesโ€”such as epilepsy, Parkinsonโ€™s disease, or chronic painโ€”deep brain stimulation (DBS) uses electrical signals to modify cell signaling therapeutically.

The advantage of implants is precision. With external devices, the skull and tissue attenuate part of the signal. Thus, for fine-grained functions like, say, flexing your finger, invasive electrodes provide better accuracy when both measuring and delivering impulses.

How Is the Neuralink Chip Used?

The Neuralink chip is surgically implanted. During the procedure, a precision robot drills a hole into a personโ€™s skull, then gingerly pushes the threads into the brain. The process takes a few hours. After healing, the device is invisible but for a minimal scar and is designed to be charged through customized items, like a special pillow or baseball cap. The surgery is expected to cost insurers about $40,000.

Byย Robert Backer

Read Full Article on TheEpochTimes.com

The Epoch Times
The Epoch Timeshttps://www.theepochtimes.com/
Tired of biased news? The Epoch Times is truthful, factual news that other media outlets don't report. No spin. No agenda. Just honest journalism like it used to be.

AI is Now an Existential Threat

We now see evidence that artificial intelligence is an existential threat to our future. It is coming to take American jobs!

With or without

The mullahs of Iran have been at war with the West, particularly the US, for half a century and Iran is also the worldโ€™s foremost champion of terrorism.

Artificial Intelligence Equals Awful Iniquities

WSJ article โ€œAI is Learning to Escape Human Controlโ€ said in 79 of 100 trials, the o3 AI code systems edited their own code to prevent human shutdown!

VIDEO: Deranged Feminist vs. Mating Ducks in Epic Public Meltdown

A middle-aged white lady lib harasses mating ducks to โ€œstop it!โ€ because the rough sex they enjoy appears non-consensual on the part of the female.

RFK Jr. Slashes ALL U.S. Funding For Bill Gatesโ€™ Global โ€˜Vaccine Allianceโ€™

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. recently pulled all U.S. government funding from Bill Gatesโ€™ Global โ€˜Vaccine Allianceโ€™ GAVI.

Musk Again Wades Into Politics, Calls GOP Bill โ€˜Insane and Destructiveโ€™

โ€œThe latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country!โ€ Musk wrote in a Saturday post on X.

Nevada Seen as Case Study in Rapid Urban Sprawl Amid a Water Crisis

Nevadaโ€™s rapidly growing population has reached a critical intersection with the regionโ€™s worsening water crisis, according to experts.

US Streamlines Rule for Fining Illegal Immigrants, Will Issue Nearly $1,000 Daily Fines for Noncompliance

DHS and DOJ announced a new joint federal rule that streamlines the process of issuing fines for illegal immigrants, making it easier and more efficient.

Man Indicted on 12 Hate Crime Charges in Attack on Boulder Demonstration for Israeli Hostages

Boulder, CO man accused of hurling Molotov cocktails at demonstrators supporting Israeli hostages indicted by grand jury on 12 hate crime counts.

Canada-US Trade Talks Will End Until โ€˜Certain Taxesโ€™ Are Dropped, Trump Stresses

Trade discussions between Canada and the United States will end โ€œuntil such time as they drop certain taxes,โ€ U.S. President Trump said in an interview.

Trump Says US to Send Tariff Letters to Trade Partners Before July 9 Deadline

President Donald Trump said Sunday he will soon send letters to trading partners detailing the tariffs to be imposed on their exports to the United States.

Trump Says He Found a Buyer for TikTok

President Trump said he found a buyer for the Chinese-owned short video application TikTok, and that he will reveal the group in roughly two weeks.

Termination of โ€˜Wasteful Contractsโ€™ Saves US Government $470 Million Last Week: DOGE

Over the past seven days, various government agencies have terminated 312 โ€œwasteful contractsโ€ with a ceiling value of $2.8 billion, the DOGE said.
spot_img

Related Articles