What should we make of Neuralink?

The what? The who?

I know. What am I talking about? Given the onslaught of AI-related hysteria and the talk surrounding Apple's recently announced Vision Pro, you'd be forgiven for not having a clue what Neuralink is. Why am I bringing it to your attention, you ask? Because Neuralink - Elon Musk's neurotechnology company - could be a significant juncture on our path to true virtual reality. And at the end of last month, the implant was approved for in-human study.

Neurotechnology, schmeurotechnology. Implant, schmimplant. I get it. The gabble above doesn't really explain what Neuralink is. According to the Neuralink website it's a "brain-computer interface" that is "fully implantable, cosmetically invisible, and designed to let you control a computer or mobile device anywhere you go". It's, in fewer words, a brain chip that conjures up (for me, anyway) that episode of Black Mirror. You know: the one where people are at risk of getting their implant "gouged" out so someone can steal the memories stored on the device.

Apologies. I'm snowballing into hysteria myself. What Neuralink is really all about is processing and transmitting neural signals to devices like a computer or a phone so thought becomes action. With this in place, the implant will allow someone with, for example, paralysis or blindness to control devices (or even move their limbs) using their brain. There's a great video which goes into more depth than the average LinkedIn reader wants here. From there, Musk is hopeful that the Neuralink implant will assist in the treatment of conditions like obesity, autism and depression. In the future, he even sees the implant being of use to healthy individuals who want to take a more immersive approach to browsing the web. Musk's high hopes aren't unfounded either: if you've seen the Neuralink video of their test subject monkey playing Pong with its brain, you'll know things are coming along well.

Sounds great doesn't it? You're probably even wondering why Elon Musk gets such a bad rep. It's worth noting that the journey to the Neuralink of today - the one that's apparently ready for human test subjects - hasn't exactly been smooth sailing. In December of last year, Neuralink was subject to a federal probe after accusations of animal cruelty at the company: former employees described how the companies "rushed" animal testing phase caused needless suffering to their furry subjects. Worst still (and though this is somewhat par of the course when it comes to animal testing) Neuralink has killed a total 1,500 animals since 2018. Neuralink's application for human testing was also rejected by the FDA only last year: the organisation had several concerns related to the device's lithium battery and the possibility of the implant's wires migrating within the brain...

At this point, I usually ask what you think about the matter at hand. But with Neuralink, that's a little more difficult. Why? For starters, the above paragraph doesn't really sell it: most people are going to swiftly decline a chip which could or could not cause bits of metal to go missing in your brain. More than that, though, it's difficult because most people that are reading this article aren't exactly the target market for the implant. Those who will first experience the promised outcomes of Neuralink are, as I've explained above, those with severe spinal cord injuries and subsequent paralysis. It therefore comes down to them. If Neuralink's technologies really can improve their quality of life, I'm completely and absolutely all for it. But will that actually happen? Given Musk's tendency to "over-promise" when it comes to his latest technological offering (*cough* he said the chip would be ready to go in a human skull by 2020 *cough*), I'm not holding my breath.

About the author

The author of this article is Amber Rawlings . She is a freelance writer who’s written for magazines like Vice, Little White Lies and Polyester Zine. In her spare time, she enjoys reading books with angry female protagonists and watching films with Adam Sandler in them.