Founded in 2016 by Elon Musk, the creator and founder of Space X and Tesla, “Neuralink” continues to work as a neurotechnology company. The purpose of Neuralink; to create a symbiosis life that aims to prevent mental and nervous diseases, thanks to the new technology they have developed.
Founded in San Francisco in 2016, the company is adjacent to “OpenlAl”, an artificial intelligence development company located in the same building. When we examine the projects carried out by the two companies, this neighborhood relationship seems very beneficial and advantageous for both parties. Stating that he is afraid of artificial intelligence at every opportunity, Musk can be said to be going over this fear with the Neuralink initiative. More than 100 people work in the company, which has received a total investment of 158 million dollars, of which $ 100 million is from Elon Musk, the creator of the project.
What Does Neuralink Do and How Is It Applied?
The Neuralink project created by Musk is to design and implement high-bandwidth Brain Computer Interface (BCI). Stating that people will not need to speak and know a language in a not very long period of 5 years, Musk excited people very much. In addition, this implant; It is estimated that it will treat various neurological problems such as memory loss, visual disorders, depression, as well as solve spinal injuries. One of Neuralink’s first near-term goals is to provide treatments for diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
In the operation, which does not require anesthesia, a part of the skull is cut and cables are placed. The purpose of the cables is to detect brain neurons. Thanks to the Neuralink surgical robot, it maps the veins and places them in veinless places. The chip, which is placed in the brain without bleeding and deformation, can be inserted into the brain in less than 1 day.
What are the Features of Neuralink?
According to the information we have, the features of Neuralink are as follows:
- With 1024 channel width for each connection provided, it promises a speed above existing technologies.
- In this technology, which has no risk of infection, there are no consumer-tiring parts such as large helmets, long cables and giant sensors.
- Thanks to Neuralink, it enables all kinds of electronic devices connected to the Internet to be controlled with brain signals.
- Its application is as easy as laser eye surgery.
- This technology, whose battery will last for 1 day, will also measure data such as temperature and pressure.
- The product, which is aimed to start mass production quickly, has a diameter of 23mm and a thickness of 8mm. It will be directly integrated into the skull.
What are the Harms of Neuralink?
Since we do not know the progress of the technology, it is not possible to calculate the losses in the future, so the losses we will share with you are the possible losses. To mention the damages:
- The risk of artificial intelligence taking over us in the long run. Although this issue is not possible at the moment, this threat emerges in every field where human and technology are interconnected.
- Side effects and brain damage are another possibility. While science still has not solved the concept of the brain, it is possible for this type of artificial intelligence to harm the brain.
- You know that any vehicle with an internet connection can be hacked. Since Neuralink technology is basically a software product, this device can be controlled by other people after a while.
The Effects of Neuralink on Our Lives
When the Neuralink project was announced for the first time, many questions arose in everyone’s minds. When we look at the point reached now, Neuralink, which gave its first fruit, was tested on a pig. The seamlessly functioning chip was mounted inside the scalp with the Neuralink surgical robot. A short operation of a few minutes is enough to integrate a chip into the brain.
This technology, which will bring great opportunities, also brings great threats. This project, which can be the hands, feet, arms and even eyes of the disabled, excited everyone. Think about how smart prostheses only work with brain power, or the joy of living that visually impaired individuals add to their lives. Or wouldn’t it be a really great experience to think that you don’t use any hardware while playing games, and that you can only manage by thinking?
On the other hand, besides the good aspects mentioned in the paragraphs above, there may also be many negative aspects. At the beginning of these are the privacy rights of the person and the situation of being hacked. Just as no technology product can be fully trusted in terms of privacy, this chip may not be reliable either. On the other hand, there are many bad scenarios such as damages, losses and even theft of data that may occur in case we are hacked.
In fact, the idea of transferring the human brain to digital media has been done before. For example, remember the famous computer of the world-famous physicist Stephan Hawking, who died in 2017 and has a speech impediment. Hawking was making his computer speak by typing with eye movements. Conversations with the Neuralink project will be read directly from the brain. Although we know very little of the potential of this project, there is no doubt that Elon Musk will share more information with us on this subject in the future. Although the conditions under which it was developed, its harms and benefits are discussed, it is a very important development for humanity and technology. For the reasons we mentioned above, Neuralink is a big step for humanity and even though it has great hopes, it never turns into a system that can be defended without question.
