Musk's Neuralink Achieves First Human Brain Implant
Decode the hype of Neuralink's Ongoing Clinical Trial
Neuralink, Elon Musk's ambitious venture into neurotechnology, has crossed a significant threshold: the first successful implantation of its brain-computer interface in a human subject. This event, blending neuroscience and cutting-edge technology, might just be one of the most significant steps towards merging the human mind with machines. But what does this really mean for the future of neurotechnology and, more importantly, for humanity? We will discuss this and more in the following post.
Background
Let’s start with a thought experiment. Imagine sitting down in front of your computer screen but in a world where traditional input devices like a mouse or keyboard are obsolete. Instead, you stare at the screen and imagine moving the mouse. Instantly, a cursor comes to life in the center of the screen, shaking back and forth. You continue by imagining the cursor moving over your web browser icon and double-clicking; these thoughts are mirrored on the screen, and a Google Chrome window appears before you. Your next thought is to activate the search bar where you think of the term ‘gmail.com’, which incidentally appears in the search bar. The website appears in front of you, displaying your email. You notice a new email from an important client, which you open simply by thinking about that specific email. You begin reading through the lengthy email; as you move further along in the text, the screen readjusts the text to stay within the focal point of the screen. You decide the email is urgent enough that it merits an immediate reply. A new reply window appears in front of you. Your reply text appears as a stream of conscious thoughts in the reply draft email. After proofreading, you think ‘send,’ and the email is returned to your client.
This scenario isn't a scene from a science fiction story. It represents the future we are stepping into with brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) - a future where our thoughts are seamlessly interfaced with electronic devices. This groundbreaking and somewhat scary concept is at the heart of efforts by companies like Neuralink. But how do those pursuing this technology plan to bridge the gap from imagination to reality? What technology is required as an intermediary for our brain to command and control electronic hardware?
Our brains can be thought of as biological computers containing complex networks of neurons. These neural nodes are connected by thousands of synapses, enabling their communication through electrical and biochemical signals. For the brain to deliver commands to an external device, these signals within the brain must be measured and deciphered before sending the secondary signal to an electronic device.
If you are a reader of this blog, all of this may sound somewhat familiar! In a previous article, we explored how several tech companies are pursuing 'mind-reading' technologies by using existing external devices, e.g., electrodes or fMRI, to measure brain activity and decode these thoughts. In the past article, proof-of-concept work was discussed demonstrating how researchers can convert a subjects thoughts to text or mental images into digital pictures. Neuralink, like these other entities, is performing similar functions but with different applications and utilities. But what separates Neuralink and makes it special?
Claims: Neuralink has developed a highly sophisticated BMI and implanted it into the first patient in a clinical trial known as PRIME.
Neuralink has made significant advancements in BMIs, which separate it from many other players in this space. In our previous article, we discussed minimally invasive technology that either sits on top of the head or images inside of the head through fMRI. The spatial and temporal resolution of such data is limited, by turn limiting the ability to decipher details of a user’s thoughts. In contrast, Neuralink’s device, known as Telepathy, significantly increases the quality of this information, making it easier to decipher the user’s thoughts. Typically, the precision of these interpretations hinges on factors like electrode size, the density of the electrode network, and how closely these electrodes can integrate with brain architecture. Overall, Neuralink is at the forefront with an implantable device designed to nestle into the motor cortex, promising high-resolution insights into our brain's workings.
But who would volunteer for such a pioneering endeavor? Who would leap to have a chip implanted in their brain, and how is it safely inserted? These questions lead us to Neuralink's latest venture: the PRIME study (Video 1).
Video 1. Introduction to Neuralink’s PRIME study.
Neuralink has initiated a clinical study, ‘Prime’.
Neuralink was approved for first-in-human clinical trials back in September of 2023. This study, code-named PRIME (short for Precise Robotically Implanted Brain-Computer Interface), is an investigational medical device trial for their fully-implanted, wireless brain-computer interface (Sidenote: that acronym feels pretty forced). The study aims to evaluate the safety of the implant and surgical robot (yes, it's only fitting that a robot is used to insert a chip into your brain) with the secondary goal of assessing the functionality of the BMI to enable users to control external devices with their thoughts (Neuralink).
Don’t worry; there is plenty of background research that has led to this point. Neuralink has been performing studies in animals for some time. Most impressive was Neuralinks ’s demonstration in Monkeys of their device for both moving a cursor and playing the game Pong. Examples of this study are displayed in Video 2.
Video 2. Neuralink monkey playing games.
How do you justify this type of invasive technology? Who exactly signs up to be the Guinea pig for this?
Elon Musk has publicly stated that he believes increasing the bandwidth between humans and computers is critical for helping humanity keep up with rapidly advancing AI. Furthermore, he has made the point numerous times that he believes superintelligent AI represents an existential risk to humanity, and merging humans with AI could be one way to mitigate this risk.
I’m not entirely sure I agree with Musk's perspective, i.e., chipping our brains is the best way forward. If your chief concern is AI, connecting your brain to the internet seems like the last thing you’d want to do. Regardless, this technology is here, and the initial trial for this procedure is aimed at quadriplegics due to spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). These are individuals with no motor function of their extremities - essentially, a mind trapped inside of their head without the ability to move. In terms of controversial technology, I think this is a worthy group to serve since the brain implant may restore some autonomy to these individuals.
OK, so what’s the news?
On Monday, the following message was seen on X (formally known as Twitter) from Elon Musk:
Is this an enormous breakthrough, or have we just not been paying attention?
Believe it or not, this is not quite as out of left field as you may think. Brain-machine interfaces have been a work in progress for a while; some of this is summarized here. However, here are a few highlights:
1998: Researchers at Emory University in Atlanta reported the installation of a brain implant that stimulates movement in a person with ‘locked-in syndrome.’
2005: Tetraplegic Matt Nagle becomes the first person to control an artificial hand using a brain-computer interface (BCI) as part of Cyberkinetics’ BrainGate project (Figure 1).
So, what are Neuralink's key advancements, then?
Advances in BMI Device - chip contains an electrode array of 1,024 super thin, flexible conductors (according to Neuralink). Furthermore, the device is significantly smaller than older devices and connects wirelessly to a computer.
Robot-based surgery - the electrode array is threaded into the cerebral cortex through a robotically driven surgery.
Clinical scale product - The PRIME Trial is recruiting a large patient population to test the safety and effectiveness of the product. This is much more significant than a ‘one-off’ procedure.
Impact and Implications:
I can think of several important near-term impacts of the Telepathy device:
Curing sensory-related disorders: Imagine a scenario where a patient’s senses are damaged beyond repair (e.g., auditory, visual, etc). The opportunity to interface a device directly within the brain region responsible for interpreting the sensations and delivering those stimuli via an electronic device is certainly a great opportunity!
Paralysis: Spinal cord injuries result in losing large (or all) motor function to the innervated tissue beneath the injury. These types of implantable devices in the motor cortex with a companion device in the spine may allow users to communicate by bypassing the inhibited tissue.
Next stage of technological advancement: Decreasing the bandwidth between our brains and our computers will certainly have interesting and likely unexpected implications. Consider a future where this type of technology has been perfected, whether it be the invasive surgery described by Neuralink or even noninvasively through the use of electrodes that sit on the scalp. We will have insane opportunities to embody ourselves in virtual worlds and untold amounts of information.
While Neuralink's technology is undeniably enthralling, my excitement is tempered by legitimate concerns about privacy and data security in an increasingly digital world. The question of how governments and corporations will handle such intimate access to our neural data remains a critical issue that must be addressed alongside technological advancements. There will be the temptation to monitor and record the thoughts of all users. I am not optimistic about the increasingly dystopian invasion of our privacy.
Who else is in this space?
Neuralink is not alone in this endeavor. Companies like Blackrock Neurotech and Synchron are also key players in the BMI space, each contributing to the rapidly evolving landscape of neurotechnology. In fact, Blackrock Neurotech is significantly older, having started in 2008, and has had an ongoing clinical trial since 2022. This actually bears the question, is Neuralink’s prolific public profile a reflection of novel technological breakthroughs or mostly from its affiliation to Elon Musk? Either way, all of this suggests a burgeoning industry focused on harnessing the power of the human mind in concert with technology.
Conclusion: A Cautious Step Forward
As Neuralink embarks on this revolutionary path, it's crucial for us to observe and critique with a balanced perspective. The merging of mind and machine opens a new chapter in human evolution, filled with incredible possibilities and significant responsibilities. As we step forward into this new era, a cautious approach, guided by ethical considerations and respect for individual autonomy, will be essential.
Support:
These newsletters take a significant amount of effort to put together and are totally for the benefit of the reader. If you find these explorations valuable, there are multiple ways to show your support:
Engage: Like or comment on posts to join the conversation.
Subscribe: Never miss an update by subscribing to the Substack.
Share: Help spread the word by sharing posts with friends directly or on social media.
References:
https://neuralink.com/blog/first-clinical-trial-open-for-recruitment/
https://roboticsbiz.com/the-history-of-brain-computer-interfaces-bcis-timeline/
Musk, E., 2019. An integrated brain-machine interface platform with thousands of channels. Journal of medical Internet research, 21(10), p.e16194.
And the Luddite checks in: Hard pass. The chip technology will not stay one-way. It will be a very, very short step from using implants to direct your thoughts, to having your thoughts directed by the implants. At which point they will no longer be "yours" in any meaningful way. Anyone who enjoys the non-stop software updates to his phone will love the updates to his chip’s software. If you don’t believe me, ask me: Canada’s government produced this https://archive.is/d3dOt irritatingly-written document, “Exploring Biodigital Convergence,” exactly four years ago and lists “Change human beings—our bodies, minds, and behaviours” as a goal by page four. “Change” will no longer be a voluntary, internal, self-directed process. It will be imposed on you by the people who know better than you what you *should* be. And who approved Neuralink implants? The FDA? That's the most captured regulatory agency in world history. I'd eat Dumpster lettuce before I trusted anything the FDA said, including, “You're standing under a falling piano. Move over.”
The NSA (and FBI and CIA and DoD) is in your email, texts, and phone calls now. Everything you write, everything you say, and everything you look up on the web. It’s called “data mining” and not “data carefully curated after obtaining a warrant” for a reason. Do you have a driver’s license? Your photograph is in the feds’ facial recognition surveillance database. The US is a country in which on a good day our privacy is already considered optional, and far more often as an obstacle to people who want to control, surveil, monitor, and change us. Anyone who clicked the “fascinated” button on the survey here should use the freedom he still has to search “fusion center” and “real time crime center” and then reconsider whether “fascinated” is really the word he’s going for.
Putting a chip in someone's head is no more evolution in a legitimate biological-genetic sense than a pacemaker is. I don’t know what Musk means by "increasing the bandwidth between humans and computers,” but that sounds like a computer problem, not a human problem: It’s the machines that should be adapted to serve us, but that’s clearly not the point of this technology. AI already makes it extremely hard to distinguish real from fake, and I agree that it’s an existential risk to humanity, so exactly how does embedding it in a human brain mitigate that risk? It doesn’t. It can’t.
Quadriplegics aside, why would anyone want to link his brain to a machine, anyway? To what end? Everyone already walks around with a supercomputer in his pocket, and what do people do with those incredible multi-terabyte all-in-one talk-film-write thingies besides judge each other on Tinder? Four years ago people in this Information Age couldn't even be bothered to look up "common cold" on Wikipedia, and they haven’t done it since, either. Exchanging a swipe or tap for a thought will not transform such people into browsers from the tree of knowledge. But then, this technology is not for them, although it's packaged and sold that way. It's for the controllers of the technology, who want to control *people*. Even if you turn your phone off, you can still be—and are—tracked everywhere you go. Why? Who benefits from that? Not the phone owner. There’s no innocent, benevolent reason for non-stop surveillance. What, so emergency services can find you the next time you stray from a national park trail and get lost? Pfft. The decision to allow a chip to be implanted in your brain is irrevocable. Even if you retain the power of decision-making after that, what happens if you want the thing removed? That’s not a kitchen table operation. That is a leash that you will never get off your neck.
Whether it’s called One ID or Neuralink or Contact Tracing or Vaccine Passports: It's not that I don't trust the people developing this stuff. It's what I trust them to do with it.
How much do you think a Neuralink should cost for the common citizen?