By Joseph Reis – owner of fbx.ee – fbx.ee.com
The world is changing with technology. Every area of ​​life from health to the travel industry is changing. The rise in AI has opened many doors to human welfare, and one of those opportunities is being taken by Elon Musk Neuralink. Elon Musk’s Neuralink is a company committed to integrating artificial intelligence into the human brain.
Elon Musk is well known as the owner of Tesla, SpaceX, and a co-owner of Neuralink. Neuralink was founded in July 2016 by Elon and eight others. It generates a considerable amount of investment in two rounds. About $ 100 million is invested by Elon itself, while about $ 58 million is being invested by others. It is a startup that aims to implant technology chips into the human brain for various purposes. Here we will discuss the purpose of Neuralink:
Neuralink has three main goals, including both long-term and short-term goals. Elon Musk is the CEO of Neuralink and all of his companies do something extraordinary. Elon Musk companies run some projects that others cannot work on. Here are the three main Neuralink goals that Elon himself described in 2019.
Treatment of brain disorders:
The short term and most realistic goal of Neuralink is to treat disorders related to damage to the brain and spinal cord. Most people become disabled due to accidents and spinal cord injuries. Neuralink is determined to cure these individuals with brain chips. We will discuss this goal in detail. Neuralink is working on a goal to have electrodes (threads) implanted in a patient before the end of 2020. This is the company’s primary goal in the short term, but there are many ethical, medical, and legal restrictions. Neuralink has to overcome all of these obstacles to take a step forward. These obstacles and limitations are discussed in the next section.
Brain-machine interface:
Another goal of Neuralink is to create a brain-machine interface. The ability to control machines with a human brain is an achievable goal. According to Elon Musk, a monkey is supposed to control the computer’s cursor using its brain and artificial intelligence. This gives hope that one day people will be able to control machines with their brains. Musk said that by the end of 2020 we might be able to type 50-60 words just thinking. That is something extraordinary. This is a medium term goal for Elon Musk Neuralink.
The way the Brain Machine Interface works is that information is transmitted from the brain to the outside world, and new sensory information is added to this signal and signals in order to then create a feedback, which in turn interacts with the original signals from the brain and afterwards when processing the Message transmitted back to the brain.
Symbiosis of the human brain and artificial intelligence:
The last main objective is a little more complex. Neuralink’s long-term goal is to provide a possible symbiosis between human thinking and artificial intelligence. That long term end goal is to meet the challenge of AI advancement. Musk believes that AI is advancing rapidly and that this could outperform human intellectuals. This will leave us behind and as a species we may not be able to deal with it. According to Musk, this goal will help us stand tall. Humans can only survive if there is a symbiosis between humans and the AI. This is actually an improved version of the second objective. This will help us achieve some extraordinary things.
Elon Musk Neuralink is working on a solution to cure such disorders caused by accidents or injuries to the head and spine. All body movements are controlled in the brain and injury to this part or failure of message transformation can lead to paralysis.
Elon Musk’s Neuralink has adopted a way to correct these disorders. In this technique, chips connected to fibers the diameter of a neuron are integrated into the head, under the skull. These sensitive fibers and chips are connected to a pad behind the ear via a wireless network. It is connected via bluetooth and the transferred data helps to cure the disorder.
To place these threads, a hole of up to 8 mm is drilled. These holes are drilled with neurosurgical robots. These robots can place the threads in the brain motor and somatosensory areas with great accuracy. These threads are actually flexible electrodes that collect and transmit data between the parts of the brain and the external guide source.
Musk is determined to begin a trial on humans, but there are certain limitations that are a major obstacle to the process. Some of them are:
The brain is in constant motion and is only supported by blood vessels in the skull. Working in the chips and threads is not easy. This inclusion could damage the movement of the brain. In addition, it can also damage the environment. Hence, it takes a lot of accuracy and labor to make this possible.
The Approved by the FDA is a big headache. This is a whole process, and they have yet to satisfy the FDA that human intervention work on this process does no harm to humans. As this is an invasive technique and some scientists have found it less feasible.
ONE A large amount of bandwidth is required for this process. Four chips are inserted into the brain, but all of them must be connected to each other as well as to the external part. This system should work as fast as the transmission of nerve impulses, as a delayed action can affect the ability to work.
Elon Musk Neuralink is unable to achieve all three in a matter of years. There is still a lot of work to be done. Currently, the transferred data is transferred via a type C USB port, for example. This type of data transfer is fast, but less feasible. So, a Wireless network is being developed to transfer the data wirelessly.
There’s no doubt that Musk and Company are working on a great idea. However, these limitations should be overcome to make this project a great part. There was also an older technology that used solid needles to transfer data, but it damaged the brain. Neuralink is currently working on installing the threads using robotic drills. However, they are determined that soon they will have laser technology to perform all of these tasks without drilling 2mm to 8mm holes in the skull.
The long term goal of the Neuralink is the future. If we are able to interact with AI with the human brain, then we have superhumans. You collect different data and make better decisions. As AI changes the world, its incorporation into the human mind could help us cure certain diseases and have better lifestyles.
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