ELON Musk claims to have overseen the creation of a cyborg monkey that can play video games with its mind.
In an interview on Sunday, the kooky billionaire said that the pixel-probing primate has been hooked up to an implant created by his firm, Neuralink.
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The California company hopes to one day create a brain-boosting microchip that can turn humans into a race of super-intelligent beings.
Video updates on Neuralink’s progress will be released in a month or so, Musk told an online audience during a chat on social media app Clubhouse.
“We have a monkey with a wireless implant in their skull who can play video games using his mind,” the 49-year-old said.
Musk, who is also CEO of Tesla and rocket company SpaceX, said the monkey “looks totally happy” and that Neuralink’s facilities meet US regulatory requirements.
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“Can we have the monkeys play mind Pong with each other?” he mused. “That would be pretty cool.”
Musk provided no evidence for his claims. Neuralink is yet to publish any research on its work, meaning it can’t be scrutinised by scientists.
Following his comments, Musk stressed that the company was working towards its short-term goal of providing implants to people with disabilities.
“I want to be clear, the early applications will really just be for people who have a serious brain injury,” he said.
In these cases “the value of the implant is just enormous”, he said.
Neuralink is a highly anticipated but controversial brain chip bankrolled by Musk, who last month became the world’s richest person.
The company aims to help us compete with artificial intelligence, which Musk has repeatedly warned threatens to one day wipe out humanity.
Founded in 2016, Neuralink’s primary goal is to provide “vital” chips to those with severe brain injuries and diseases.
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For instance, the device could help people with severe spinal injuries to walk again, according to Musk.
The company’s ultimate aim, however, is to create a technology that anybody can wear to boost their intelligence and more.
On its website, Neuralink boasts that it’s developing “ultra high bandwidth brain-machine interfaces to connect humans and computers”.
Musk told The Joe Rogan Experience podcast in 2018 that the implant is around an inch in diameter, similar to the face of a smartwatch.
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He said a robot would be used to insert the implant and connect thread-like electrodes to the brain.
Neuralink aims is to create a full brain interface within the next 25 years.
During yesterday’s interview, hosted by the Good Time Show, Musk discussed the progress of his various other projects, including SpaceX’s quest to land humans on Mars.
The South African business mogul claimed it could take his rocket-building outfit just five-and-a-half years to reach the Red Planet.
Who is Elon Musk?
Here’s what you need to know…
Controversial billionaire Elon Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa in 1971.
As a 12-year-old child he taught himself computer programming and sold the code of a video game to a PC magazine for $500 (£300).
At 17, he moved to Canada to study, before gaining two degrees in physics and business at the University of Pennsylvania.
At the age of 24 he moved to California to start a Ph.D. in applied physics and material science at Stanford University – but left the programme after just two days to pursue other projects.
Now 49, he is the founder and CEO of SpaceX, co-founder, CEO and product architect of Tesla Motors, co-founder and chairman of SolarCity, co-chairman of Opan AI, co-founder of Zip2 and founder of X.com, which merged with PayPal.
He’s also working on a human brain chip project called Neuralink.
Musk’s stated aim is to reduce global warming and save humans from extinction by setting up a colony on Mars.
The billionaire inventor is also working on the world’s largest lithium-ion battery to store renewable energy.
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In other news, a terminally-ill scientist is on a mission to become the world’s first cyborg in a bid to combat his muscle wasting disease.
Silicon Valley geeks are turning their kids into cyborgs, according to one neuroscientist.
And, Cyborgs will rule the planet within 80 years, a Brit scientist has claimed.
What are your thoughts on Neuralink? Let us know in the comments…
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This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
