New Firm Working On Merging Brains And Computers
Tesla Inc founder and chief executive Elon Musk has laun ched a company called Neuralink Corp through which computers could merge with human brains, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Neuralink is pursuing what Musk calls the “neural lace“ technology , implanting tiny brain electrodes that may one day upload and download thoughts, the Journal reported. Musk has not made an official announcement, but Neuralink was registered in California as a “medical research“ firm, and he plans on funding the company mostly by himself, a person briefed on the plans said. It is unclear what sorts of products Neuralink might create, but people who have had discussions with the company describe a strategy similar to space launch company SpaceX and Tesla, the Journal report said. The technique could be used to improve memory or give humans added artificial intelligence.According to the Journal, leading academics in the field have been signed up to work at the company which is being funded privately by Musk, whose name is also tied to ambitious projects in space and electric cars. Specialists in the field envision a time when humans may be able to upload and download thoughts. In a tweet, Musk confirmed the existence of the company and said more details about the firm would be made public next week.
As well as heading electric car maker Tesla, Musk is involved with running space exploration company Space X, a project to reinvent transport called Hyperloop and, most recently , a firm investigating the feasibility of boring tunnels underneath Los Angeles -and a new project to power Australia. Tweeting about Neuralink, Musk conceded it would be “difficult to dedicate the time, but existential risk is too high not to“.
The hurdles involved in developing these devices are immense.Neuroscience researchers say we have very limited understanding about how the neurons in the human brain communicate, and our methods for collecting data on those neurons is rudimentary . Then there's the idea of people volunteering to have electronics placed inside their heads.
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