One had to sift out the noise in order to hear it, but during a town hall in Wisconsin last week, Elon Musk made a startling announcement. Neuralink, a technology company developed by the world-renowned brainiac, is forging ahead. "We're hoping later this year to do our first device implant for humans," Musk explained, "enabling someone who is completely blind to see."
Known as Blindsight, this revolutionary technology involves a short medical procedure (approximately one hour) during which a doctor will use surgical robotics to implant a microelectrode array into the brain of a visually impaired patient. It won't make for 20/20 eyesight, but it should provide low-resolution vision at first, according to Musk. "[B]ut then, over time, I think, eventually the implant would enable vision that is like superhuman. So, that'll be pretty cool."
Pretty cool is an understatement. This transformative medical technology is also slated to allow those with paralysis to walk again eventually. On April 2, a Neuralink post on X read: "If you have quadriplegia and are interested in exploring groundbreaking ways to control a computer using your thoughts, you can now sign up from anywhere in the world."
Neuralink Poised to Change the Future for Many
In September of 2024, the Food and Drug Administration granted "breakthrough" status to Blindsight. This means those with life-threatening conditions can access treatment in the development stages. Last month, TCE Technologies created a brief video that explains how Neuralink works. The so-called link is implanted in the brain and connects to several electrodes that sit behind the ear. These electrodes pick up electrical signals from the brain. The chip connects wirelessly to an external device like a smartphone or a computer. Next, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) software decodes the brain signals.
Many medical applications are anticipated, including but not limited to helping those with neurological diseases such as Parkinson's and epilepsy, as well as assisting speech-impaired stroke victims to learn how to talk again. In short, these brain chips being quietly created behind the scenes have the capacity to change the lives of millions of people suffering from a wide range of debilitating illnesses.
Ethical Concerns and Pitfalls
With great promise also comes a plethora of concerns regarding how Neuralink technology should be used and whether it can be manipulated for ill as well as for good. In the moral category, many worry about who will gain access to such life-altering medicine. Some fear it will only be parsed out to those who can afford it.
Then, there are issues of security and privacy. What if someone hacks into your brain chip or, worse, gains access to medical storage devices and sends a virus that wreaks havoc with the software?
It could be said this groundbreaking medical device essentially merges AI with the human body. Heretofore, making the blind see and the lame walk was a biblical concept restricted to the divine. In the gospel of Matthew, Chapter 11, John the Baptist asked his disciples to go to Jesus and question him as to whether he was the Messiah. Jesus answered them, "Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen – the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor (NLT)." Technology like Neuralink does not compete with the divine power of Jesus on any level. Still, humanity can only hope that such mind-altering medical breakthroughs will be used only for good.
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To register for a Neuralink clinical trial, click here.
