By now, you’ve probably heard of Elon Musk’s Neuralink, a neurotechnology company that implanted its first brain chip in a human back in January this year. According to the patient himself – a 30-year-old man named Noland Arbaugh, who is paralysed from the neck down – it’s enabled him to use a computer with only his thoughts, unlocking a new sense of independence. Of course, the apparent success of the pioneering trial isn’t enough to quell suspicions that something more ominous is at play.
Earlier today (August 22) Musk shared news that Neuralink’s second participant, Alex, has made a smooth recovery after receiving his implant last month. In that short time, he’s recovered the ability to play games like Counter-Strike 2 despite a debilitating spinal cord injury, and has been learning to use CAD software with his new “telepathic” abilities. “The Link is a big step on the path of regaining freedom and independence for myself,” he says in a Neuralink blog post.
Alongside the news, though, Elon shared some more shocking claims (especially if you’ve not taken valuable time out of your life to listen to a recent eight-hour podcast on his controversial tech company). “If all goes well, there will be hundreds of people with Neuralinks within a few years,” he writes in a post on X, between singing the praises of Donald Trump, defending people’s right to hate speech, sharing anti-trans harassment, and fearmongering about civil war. “Maybe tens of thousands within five years, millions within 10 years…”
Update about the second Neuralink device in a human.
If all goes well, there will be hundreds of people with Neuralinks within a few years, maybe tens of thousands within 5 years, millions within 10 years, … https://t.co/opy1xj5JgF
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 22, 2024
This essentially lines up with Musk’s plans for Neuralink from the start: to augment the human brain to the degree that we can hopefully keep up with superintelligent machines when the time comes. Needless to say, though, the fast timeline has caused some concern. Just a few issues raised by critics include the possibility of hacking the devices, the dire fate of the infamous Neuralink monkeys, and the very questionable decision of turning over your brainwaves to Big Tech.
This backlash seems fairly natural, maybe even sensible, when it comes to a rogue billionaire implanting brain chips in large swathes of the population. (Musk’s Twitter takeover has been bad enough, and as far as we can tell Neuralinks aren’t equipped with a ‘log off’ button.) Like any new technology, there are numerous things that could go wrong.
Then again, the two humans who have trialled the devices seem to be happy with them so far. Maybe one day we’ll look back and wonder how we ever existed without a little computer in our minds. Then the brain chip will detect the ‘wondering’ emotion and tweak our neurotransmitters to put us back on track. Elon’s AI-generated voice will enter our thoughts: “Don’t worry kitten.” “Ok ❤ Yay ❤,” we’ll say, and return to our true place: performing cognitive labour as a node in the Neuralink hivemind.
