We now live in the world of AI. This enhanced era is used for machines to help people in need. As far as new advancements go, Neuralink is one such milestone that is simply fascinating and enormous in this digital era. Before getting into Neuralink, let’s understand what neuroscience is.
Contents
What is Neuroscience?
Neuroscience is the study of the brain and nervous system. It helps us understand how our brain works on the ability to think, feel, and move. Neuroscience is used by doctors and scientists to learn how to treat brain problems like seizures and memory loss. Imagine your brain as a CPU. A computer technician looks into the CPU if any problem arises so that he can identify the origin of the problem and make the computer function better. Similarly, neuroscience is like learning how the brain works so that neuroscientists can fix it and make it even better. A person who specializes in neuroscience is called a neuroscientist.
History of Neuralink:
Neuralink was founded in 2016 by Elon Musk, who is also known for creating companies like Tesla and SpaceX. Elon Musk founded Neuralink to develop advanced brain-machine interfaces so that he can help people with severe neurological conditions such as paralysis and epilepsy. Neuralink is headquartered in Fremont, California.
The basic use of Neuralink is to create an interconnection between the human brain and external AI brain. Mostly it helps people with conditions like paralysis, epilepsy, and other neurological disorders. It also improves memory power and learning speed to enhance human capabilities. It involves the implementation of a brain chip to record and stimulate neural activity.
Purpose and Goals:
Neuralink is a tiny brain chip implant that performs various tasks depending on its specific application and usage.
- For paralyzed people, the chip can help them move their fingers or hands by sending signals from their brain to the body and connecting them to external devices like robotic limbs.
- It can also help mute people speak by thinking the words, which a computer can translate into text or speech
- The chip allows users to control external devices or gadgets like smartphones and laptops just by thinking.
- It can help manage or treat conditions like epilepsy or severe depression by stimulating specific areas of the brain to control symptoms.
Neuralink and its experiments:
Experiments on Animals
At first, Neuralink conducted tests on animals. A pig named Gertrude with a Neuralink implant monitored neutral activity, depicting that the device could read signals from its brain.Neuralink has also placed a chip on a monkey named Pager. It allowed it to control a game by thinking about moving the joystick, demonstrating the potential for controlling devices directly with brain signals.
According to an article by Reuters on December 6, 2022, there were allegations against Musk on animal cruelty and welfare. But then the investigation led to no evidence of animal cruelty.
Experiments on Human:
Neuralink got US FDA approval for human trials in May 2023. On January 29, 2024, it was revealed that Neuralink had planted the first human implant. According to an article by Reuters dated February 21, 2024, the first human to have the implant could control a computer mouse using their thoughts. On March 20, 2024, during a livestream on X, the identity of the first patient was revealed. An American quadriplegic called Noland Arbaugh received the first Neuralink implant and could play chess through his signals from the brain to the mouse. Following this, Arbaugh also stated that they are running through some issues and it’s not the end of the journey. They are still working on the algorithms to make it better. Furthermore, Neuralink is preparing for the second human trial soon.
Conclusion:
Neuralink has paved the way for discoveries that will take place in our future era. It may be a little frightening, but it’s quite alluring to know how these innovations will make a better future. We are still in a progressive world, and everything takes time with utmost work. The ethical implications and societal concerns pose a challenge to the development of Neuralink. People are always worried about repercussions. We can only look forward to these unfathomable innovations making places with hope in our minds. Let us look forward to these successes and gain knowledge of this new scientific era.
References :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuralink
Written by Bhavya S