One day, maybe we will have ‘superhuman’ abilities for example can play songs in the brain or upload data in our brain to a computer.
Sounds kind of ridiculous doesn't it?
Yet the matter is actually being tried to be realized by SpaceX founder Elon Musk and his team in a company called Neuralink.
Neuralink was also founded by Musk in 2016 and is a company focused on neurotechnology.
The company is reportedly creating a chip to be implanted into the brain to expand human capabilities.
Musk believes the chip can solve brain -related problems, for example a paralyzed individual will return to mobility; the visually impaired can hear and the dumb can speak.
According to Musk, the chip not only restores hearing but is capable of extending the range of hearing beyond normal frequencies and amplitudes.
The development of the chip is in line with Neuralink's mission to help people with nerve and mobility problems.
In addition, Musk also once said that he is very worried about the threat of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in the future that will destroy humans.
Currently, AI is largely replacing human work. For example, we can now just order food at McDonald’s restaurants or buy movie tickets using a machine.
AI also helps us in our daily travel to anywhere because GPS technology is more practical nowadays.
The existence of the Neuralink chip which aims to improve human intelligence and abilities will probably help humans to compete with AI but it is said that there is still a long way to go to achieve the mission.
If the companies involved achieve half of what was promised, we will be able to witness the emergence of the most important technology in human history.
But you must be wondering, how can this Neuralink chip work? Is it not harmful to our brain?
In a nutshell, Neuralink is a technology to help humans connect with machines using the brain.
The company is targeting the chip to be installed in any hospital.
Neuralink will implant a chip in the brain painlessly, as quickly and easily as you do lasik surgery.
The design of this chip has changed and now the chip is the size of a coin with a diameter of 8 millimeters and the thickness of a hair.
To install the chip, a small skull on the human brain will be removed before the chip is installed.
Because the process needs to be meticulous, the Neuralink team created a robot for the procedure to ensure that the chip assembly process does not take more than 1 hour.
However, the installation of the chip will leave small scars.
After the chip is installed, the device can send and receive electrical signals through the brain and use them to control the machine.
In the early stages, we are able to control basic devices such as computers and other smart devices.
The brain will send information to different bodies through neurons. Neurons in the brain will communicate with each other to form networks and communicate using chemical signals called ‘neurotransmitters’.
Musk claims the device can be used to operate robots, treat mental illness, to stream music directly to the brain and extend the range of hearing beyond normal frequencies.
In August last year, Neuralink performed a demonstration of installing a chip on a pig and the animal was able to live normally after being implanted and removed.
Recently, on April 9, Neuralink uploaded a three-minute video showing a monkey with a chip embedded in its brain, playing a video game.
Initially, the monkeys were trained to use controls and then use their brains to play the video game.
Musk had previously ‘tweeted’, Neuralink’s first product would allow a paralyzed person to use a smartphone only through their brain and faster than a human thumb.
The next version of the chip will be able to make the paralyzed individual to walk again and even if the device is installed on the brain, humans will still feel normal.
Musk has a great vision and all the companies he founded are related to future technologies such as Tesla electric cars and SpaceX rockets.
What do you think of the technology? Do you feel it is a technology that will change people’s lives or is it just a mere dream?
