The Washington Post on July 18th, 2020 introduced Elon Musk’s new project, Neuralink, in the Business section. Introducing this project in terms of business rather than science or technology implies that this project could be a valuable startup industry in the future market.
Neuralink was founded by Elon Musk, and various neurology, engineering, and computer experts are working together on this project. Elon Musk gave his first official presentation 3 years later at an event on July 16, 2020, after launching Neurolink in 2017 to recruit top-tier talents.
It is one of several startups (Kernel, CTRL-Labs, Paradromics) that are trying to research and commercialize the already known BCI (Brain-Computer Interface), but unlike other startups, Neuralink puts the chip directly into the brain. The idea of NeuroLink stems from Musk’s vision of a superhuman (a combination of humans and AI) - A thread thinner than a hair is pierced through the skull, and thousands of threads are tied and connected to a device, such as a Bluetooth device attached to the ear. In this way, thoughts in our brain are read by an externally connected computer.
NeuroLink has finished testing on monkeys, and if it gets FDA approval, it would be tested on humans in 2020. The FDA already issued regulatory guidelines on BCI in February of 2020, which indicates that the government actively supports and promotes this type of industry as a future business.
Although BCI (human and AI synthesis) technology could give us medical benefits, many oppose this as it could harm the providence of nature. But the important thing is that whether we agree or disagree (and accept or reject), the world is (industry is and the market is) changing with the rapid development of technology, and therefore, this news introduced in the Biz section of the Washington Post. For some, it may mean that a world of opportunity may come.
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