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Everything we know about Elon Musk's Neuralink – from mind control to monkey trial death
Tech billionaire Elon Musk took to social media to claim that there is now a human with a Neuralink chip in their brain, but what exactly is that and what does it mean?
Tech billionaire and social media site destroyer Elon Musk has claimed that there is now a person walking around with a computer chip in their brain thanks to his controversial Neuralink company.
Musk, the owner of X (formerly Twitter) claimed that the operation was done on Sunday, and that the test subject was now “recovering well”. He posted: “Initial results show promising neuron spike detection." He gave no further details about who it was or what the chip does, but later announced that the first publicly available Neuralink product would be called Telepathy.
Musk explained: “(It) enables control of your phone or computer, and through them almost any device, just by thinking. Initial users will be those who have lost the use of their limbs. Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a speed typist or auctioneer. That is the goal.”
It is not known if the two things are connected, but Musk has normally been quite vocal about his Neuralink project.
So, what do we know? Well, let the Daily Star help you with that.
What does a Neuralink chip actually do?
Neuralink's initial goal is to give people with quadriplegia – paralysis below the neck affecting both arms and legs – the "ability to control their computers and mobile devices" using their thoughts.
However, ambitions for the tech start-up don't stop there. The chip hopes to "restore capabilities" in people with other health issues, including problems with motor function, vision and even speech.
In a scientific paper titled Brain-Computer Interfaces in Medicine, authors Jerry J. Shih, Dean J. Krusienski, and Jonathan R. Wolpaw explain: "Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) acquire brain signals, analyse them, and translate them into commands that are relayed to output devices that carry out desired actions.
"The main goal of BCI is to replace or restore useful function to people disabled by neuromuscular disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, cerebral palsy, stroke, or spinal cord injury."
Neuroscientist Philip Sabes, who founded Neuralink with Musk, previously said the chip could potentially have mood-boosting effects and may be used to treat mental health issues such as depression.
How's it going so far?
Well, besides the first human trial – which was approved last year – it has been met with a very controversial response.
Outrage was caused last year when the controversial company drilled into a healthy animal's skull and implanted electrodes into its brain. Neuralink first came under fire after it was claimed as many as a dozen macaque monkeys suffered chronic infections, paralysis, brain swelling, and other horror side effects after receiving the chip.
Musk has always maintained the monkeys had terminal conditions when they were selected for the trials and has repeatedly insisted their deaths were not related to the chip. "It didn’t die because of the Neuralink, it died because it had a terminal case of cancer or something like that," he reiterated during an interview with Times financial columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin.
But the Physician's Committee expressed major concerns about the safety of the chip after it was revealed several previously well monkeys were put down during trials.
"Patients should have serious concerns about the safety of Neuralink’s device," Ryan Merkley, the group's director of research advocacy, said. "There are well-documented reports of company employees conducting rushed, sloppy experiments in monkeys and other animals."
Computers + human brains = hackable chaos
Your brain could be hacked . . . but only if Musk is lax with his tech.
Speaking to the Daily Star, Senior Vice President of identity and access management software company ForgeRock, Alex Laurie, said Neuralink would have to have watertight anti-hacking systems in place from day one.
"At the moment the approach is for Neuralink to be an interface between the subject’s brain and external devices, basically for them to control a computer via an app on their phone," Laurie said.
"The hacking risk here sits within Neuralink, the app and the computer that it is sending signals to. A hacker could potentially make it seem like the subject or user is instructing something when they are not."
Asked what damage hackers could potentially inflict on a person with the chip, Laurie explained: "Hackers could potentially have access to personal medical information or history of activity and imitate the subject. However, based on the published material it is not clear what physical harm a hacker could potentially do to the subject."
Who is the first person with the Neuralink chip?
We have no idea – only Musk and his team know that.
But it could be Playboy model Kayla Kayden (it probably isn't) after she volunteered to be the test subject. Kayla, from Nevada, Las Vegas, US, claimed that the chip would be like boob impants . . . but for her brain.
“People use botox for their face, this would be the same but for the brain,” Kayla, who has has 417,000 followers on Instagram (@kaylakayden1 ), told NudePR.com. “I won’t have to worry about the effects of ageing on my brain. “As a hybrid human, the possibilities are endless - I would be so efficient. I could climb Everest at 90 years old, I could always be working when I don’t have a computer in front of my face.
Sure, Kayla.
Daily Star Sunday
![1_JS303696814_Banner.jpg](https://i2-prod.dailystar.co.uk/incoming/article31998760.ece/ALTERNATES/s1176b/1_JS303696814_Banner.jpg)
Tech billionaire Elon Musk took to social media to claim that there is now a human with a Neuralink chip in their brain, but what exactly is that and what does it mean?
Tech billionaire and social media site destroyer Elon Musk has claimed that there is now a person walking around with a computer chip in their brain thanks to his controversial Neuralink company.
Musk, the owner of X (formerly Twitter) claimed that the operation was done on Sunday, and that the test subject was now “recovering well”. He posted: “Initial results show promising neuron spike detection." He gave no further details about who it was or what the chip does, but later announced that the first publicly available Neuralink product would be called Telepathy.
Musk explained: “(It) enables control of your phone or computer, and through them almost any device, just by thinking. Initial users will be those who have lost the use of their limbs. Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a speed typist or auctioneer. That is the goal.”
It is not known if the two things are connected, but Musk has normally been quite vocal about his Neuralink project.
So, what do we know? Well, let the Daily Star help you with that.
What does a Neuralink chip actually do?
Neuralink's initial goal is to give people with quadriplegia – paralysis below the neck affecting both arms and legs – the "ability to control their computers and mobile devices" using their thoughts.
However, ambitions for the tech start-up don't stop there. The chip hopes to "restore capabilities" in people with other health issues, including problems with motor function, vision and even speech.
In a scientific paper titled Brain-Computer Interfaces in Medicine, authors Jerry J. Shih, Dean J. Krusienski, and Jonathan R. Wolpaw explain: "Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) acquire brain signals, analyse them, and translate them into commands that are relayed to output devices that carry out desired actions.
"The main goal of BCI is to replace or restore useful function to people disabled by neuromuscular disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, cerebral palsy, stroke, or spinal cord injury."
Neuroscientist Philip Sabes, who founded Neuralink with Musk, previously said the chip could potentially have mood-boosting effects and may be used to treat mental health issues such as depression.
How's it going so far?
Well, besides the first human trial – which was approved last year – it has been met with a very controversial response.
Outrage was caused last year when the controversial company drilled into a healthy animal's skull and implanted electrodes into its brain. Neuralink first came under fire after it was claimed as many as a dozen macaque monkeys suffered chronic infections, paralysis, brain swelling, and other horror side effects after receiving the chip.
Musk has always maintained the monkeys had terminal conditions when they were selected for the trials and has repeatedly insisted their deaths were not related to the chip. "It didn’t die because of the Neuralink, it died because it had a terminal case of cancer or something like that," he reiterated during an interview with Times financial columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin.
But the Physician's Committee expressed major concerns about the safety of the chip after it was revealed several previously well monkeys were put down during trials.
"Patients should have serious concerns about the safety of Neuralink’s device," Ryan Merkley, the group's director of research advocacy, said. "There are well-documented reports of company employees conducting rushed, sloppy experiments in monkeys and other animals."
Computers + human brains = hackable chaos
Your brain could be hacked . . . but only if Musk is lax with his tech.
Speaking to the Daily Star, Senior Vice President of identity and access management software company ForgeRock, Alex Laurie, said Neuralink would have to have watertight anti-hacking systems in place from day one.
"At the moment the approach is for Neuralink to be an interface between the subject’s brain and external devices, basically for them to control a computer via an app on their phone," Laurie said.
"The hacking risk here sits within Neuralink, the app and the computer that it is sending signals to. A hacker could potentially make it seem like the subject or user is instructing something when they are not."
Asked what damage hackers could potentially inflict on a person with the chip, Laurie explained: "Hackers could potentially have access to personal medical information or history of activity and imitate the subject. However, based on the published material it is not clear what physical harm a hacker could potentially do to the subject."
Who is the first person with the Neuralink chip?
We have no idea – only Musk and his team know that.
But it could be Playboy model Kayla Kayden (it probably isn't) after she volunteered to be the test subject. Kayla, from Nevada, Las Vegas, US, claimed that the chip would be like boob impants . . . but for her brain.
“People use botox for their face, this would be the same but for the brain,” Kayla, who has has 417,000 followers on Instagram (@kaylakayden1 ), told NudePR.com. “I won’t have to worry about the effects of ageing on my brain. “As a hybrid human, the possibilities are endless - I would be so efficient. I could climb Everest at 90 years old, I could always be working when I don’t have a computer in front of my face.
Sure, Kayla.
Daily Star Sunday