In the latest development from Elon Musk’s ongoing quest to make humans just a little more like their AI overlords, Neuralink has received approval from an independent review board to install its brain-computer interface into a second person. This comes after the first recipient, who received the implant back in January, managed to navigate a laptop with the power of thought alone, proving once and for all that mind control starts with mice and ends with spreadsheets.
The announcement was made during a livestream event and shared in typical Muskian fashion with barely concealed bravado, which is to say on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, also owned by Musk and currently being used primarily to host conspiracy theories, long diatribes and now neurotechnology updates.
Neuralink’s first human participant had a partial disability and reportedly managed to play online chess and control a cursor using only his mind, which is something most of us struggle to do even with full use of our limbs and several cups of coffee. Impressively, Musk claimed the implant has been functioning without issue, which is not something users of his other ventures such as Twitter or Tesla Autopilot can always say with a straight face.
The company also disclosed that the first implant experienced a complication when several of its tiny wires retracted unexpectedly from brain tissue. This, Neuralink was quick to point out, didn’t negatively affect the volunteer’s performance, presumably because when it comes to brain surgery, the phrase “mostly working” is now considered good enough for FDA clearance as long as it is said with confidence and followed by a PowerPoint.
As for the second participant, Neuralink says the next surgery is imminent, though did not provide details, possibly because they are still trying to find someone who hears “experimental neurosurgery” and replies with “sign me up.”
The brain-computer interface is designed to restore lost functions in patients with neurological issues, and eventually to allow humans to communicate with machines telepathically, or as Musk would have it, to achieve “symbiosis with AI.”
That Musk’s vision includes merging human consciousness with artificial intelligence is not new, though it remains somewhat concerning. After all, if you’ve seen the state of AI-generated artwork, you may be forgiven for not wanting it poking around inside your head just yet.
The company’s long term goals remain ambitious, including the restoration of sight and mobility, and possibly human-AI karaoke, should things get really futuristic. For now, however, they’re focused on writing code that can be installed directly into your skull, which seems entirely normal and not at all like the plot of a mid-budget dystopian thriller.
As for whether any of this will change the course of human evolution, or just allow us to scroll TikTok using our frontal lobes, only time will tell.
After all, nothing says progress like letting a billionaire install software in your head without a manual.