Elon Musk’s company Neuralink has been working on creating a microchip, a brain-machine interface, since July 2016. The first and main goal of Neuralink is to treat neurological disorders and other injuries such as OCD, depression, Alzheimer’s, and loss of eyesight, Musk explains in a podcast with Joe Rogan, JRE #1470. Their next goal is to have the ability to receive input from the brain and have it directly translate output to an external device like a smartphone, this is what is meant by brain-machine interface. For instance, Musk’s response to a tweet indicates that music could be streamed directly to one’s brain with this chip. Neuralink’s long-term goal is to “achieve a sort of symbiosis with artificial intelligence,” Musk claims. This implies that AI will eventually excel over the human race, and he is trying to give us an option to merge with them, as he also states in the podcast, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”
Musk describes that this implantation will be completely different than current brain surgeries. Right now, brain surgery often involves shaving of the head, scarring, and overnight stays; however, this chip implantation is supposedly going to be as quick as forty-five minutes with no shaving required. In this surgery, a small hole will be drilled into the head and a surgical robot will precisely place Gossamer-thin electrodes into specific parts of the brain, making sure to avoid blood vessels. A sensor would be placed in the hole so the scalp could grow over it, making this implant unnoticeable. The chip is designed to last years and not have to be replaced, it will also be reversible. Versions of this chip have been successfully tested on mice and monkeys, and Neuralink is awaiting approval from the FDA for human tests.
Personally, I would not want this implant, but I can understand why people would. If someone has a disorder and isn't happy with how it has affected their life, and then have the option to possibly fix it with a microchip implant, I would completely support performing such a surgery. Therefore, I think it is an ethical procedure for humans. In terms of being connected to the internet, typing and speaking on my phone is enough linkage for me. Would you want the implant? Is such a procedure ethical? Will AI intelligence ever exceed that of humans? Could disorders really be solved by a chip? Will this benefit humans as a species or be a detriment to society as we are already too attached to technology?
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