Elon Musk’s brain implant company offers an intriguing glimpse of an internet connecting human minds

By Simon Marvin, University of Sheffield, Allan McCay, University of Sydney

Elon Musk’s company called Neuralink, launched in 2016, aims to implant a piece of technology in people’s brains that would allow them to control a computer or phone by thought alone. This is otherwise known as a brain-computer interface.

After years of experimenting on animals, Neuralink recently announced the implantation of one of their devices in the brain of a person.

Yet “neurotechnology”, of which this is a form, holds the promise of alleviating human suffering and allowing people with disabilities to regain lost capacities.

And it raises further questions. Would people without disabilities also embrace technology that directly connects with their brains and nervous systems? What would happen in future if people were able to link themselves to devices, infrastructure and even other people’s brains in a kind of brain-computer internet?

It’s now time to begin to think about those questions. Medical conditions such as locked-in syndrome prevent people from communicating or moving their limbs. Neuralink’s device is initially aimed at restoring capacities to people with such conditions by controlling a computer cursor to communicate, or using a robotic arm to feed themselves.

However, the longer term aspirations of the company, as expressed by Musk, include the capacity to summon a self-driving vehicle by thought alone. These aspirations suggest that neurotechnology might connect people to a wide variety of technological systems currently in everyday use.

What are brain-computer interfaces?

Brain-computer interfaces (BCI) detect the electrical activity in the brain connected to a person’s intentions. For example, if a person wants a cursor to move to the right, they might imagine waving their hand. This brain activity is decoded and converted into a command for a cursor.

This approach can work with a robotic arm, the lights in a smart home, a video game, or even a drone or robot. A BCI can be thought of as a “universal controller”, or as the eminent neuroscientist Professor Rafael Yuste has described it, an iPhone for the brain.

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