Neuralink brain-machine interface to enter human trial phase

We're slowly moving toward a cyberpunk future where we won't need phones in our pockets and instead communicate with imps, making us kind of cyborgs. Elon Musk is one of the biggest supporters and advocates of brain-machine interface technology, and his Neuralink company will be ready to test prototypes on humans in six months.

During the third "show and tell" event on Wednesday, CEO Elon Musk said that the company is now readying to begin human trials. "We think probably in about six months, we should be able to have a Neuralink installed in a human," said Musk.

The news comes with a lot of caveats attached to it. 19 months ago, Neuralink carried out testing with primates, killing 15 of the 23 test monkeys. Furthermore, the company’s co-founder, Max Hodak, quit after the previous "show and tell" event back in April 2021, though he remained optimistic about the success of the technology in the future.

Another potential sign that things are not well in Muskville is the fact that Musk himself approached Neuralink's most formidable rival, Synchron, this August, probing the ground for investment opportunities.

Synchron has already achieved commercial success - the company successfully implanted its inch-and-a-half long device into a person living with ALS at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. This man would be able to surf the interwebs and send text messages via the implant, a feat that was previously impossible, as he has lost their ability to move and communicate independently due to the disease.

What is Neuralink?

"In many ways it’s like a Fitbit in your skull, with tiny wires," Musk said of Neuralink's device during the 2021 livestream event. The technology uses up to 1,024, 5-micron diameter wires "stitched" into a patient's gray matter to make connections with neighboring neurons, delivering high-resolution sampling of the brain's electrical emissions, and translating between analog electrical impulses and digital computer code.

"We are all already cyborgs in a way," Musk has reiterated times and again, "in that your phone and your computer are extensions of yourself." However, he claims that those devices severely limit our ability to communicate. "If you're interacting with a phone, it's limited by the speed at which you can move your thumbs or the speed at which you can talk into your phone."

Neuralink is still working towards gaining FDA approval for its implant, and to make matters worse, another scandalous headline-worthy story has hit the internet lately - apparently, Musk had an affair with a Neuralink executive, who's now pregnant with twins. Currently, Musk is the legitimate father of 10 children.