Brain-computer interface refers to the connection with the brain of a person or animal through an external device, so that the device and the brain can exchange information.
The technology has achieved phased results, among which Musk's brain-computer interface technology has been realized in monkeys and pigs. Monkeys implanted with brain-computer interfaces can play a simulated table tennis game with their minds, controlling the direction of the racket through consciousness.
At the Neuralink event, Musk released another blockbuster news: Neuralink's brain-computer interface technology has been licensed by the FDA and will be put into clinical trials in 2022.
Complete the access in 30 minutes, or you can control the foreign object at will through the mind
Tesla founder Musk is known as "Iron Man" because of his bold and forward-thinking ideas and extraordinary achievements. SpaceX space exploration technology, environmentally friendly electric car Tesla, Mars immigration plan, and even the brain-computer interface that is about to enter the clinic have made him infinitely close to "Iron Man", and even Robert Downey Jr., who plays the "Iron Man" movie, visited Musk before starring.
And the brain-computer interface is perhaps the almost craziest behavior of this realistic version of "Iron Man".
The whole process is carried out by a neurosurgery robot. The brain structure is first scanned to avoid all dangerous areas to avoid harm to the brain; then, like a minimally invasive, the 23mm ×8mm tiny chip is implanted in a relatively stable and hidden place close to the neuron, so as to read clear signals of brain activity. The whole process takes about 30 minutes.
The current connection distance of this brain-computer interface is about 5-10 meters, similar to Bluetooth headsets, which can be connected wirelessly with mobile phones. In Musk's sense, after the technology is landed, people will only rely on their minds to control foreign objects. Imagine waking up one morning in the future with just a thought in your mind and the lights on.
And the technology can also be transplanted through memory, allowing people to learn a lot of knowledge and skills in a short period of time. American scientists tried to use the chip to store memories in the hippocampus, and then implanted the chip in another place to achieve memory storage transplantation and success in monkeys.
But this is not the ultimate goal that Musk wants to achieve, and he may want to achieve more than that.
Or it can help patients with spinal cord injury, and the way home is consciousness immortality
Musk said in an interview on the 8th of this month that the brain-computer interface can help patients with severe spinal cord injuries, such as people with quadriplegia. Through brain-computer technology, patients are able to interact consciously with computers or mobile phones, helping them gain freedom of consciousness. In April this year, Musk showed a passage in which macaques that successfully implanted brain-computer interfaces played a game of table tennis through brain consciousness.
But Musk believes that the way home of the brain-computer interface is to achieve consciousness immortality through brain-computer technology. If clinically successful, even after the human body enters a state of death due to old age or illness, it can store its soul in another system or even transfer it to other bodies to achieve conscious immortality.
At first glance, it sounds like a science fiction movie, but Musk is optimistic about the future of brain-computer interfaces, saying: I am not hopelessly, I am more and more convinced that it is achievable. But his optimism does not convince the plutocrats who want to continue their lives that the visible and tangible way of interfering with the elderly to stay healthy may be more convincing.
Musk's nemesis, Bezos, reinvented the technique of removing old cells, slowing down aging by targeting the removal of old cells. Rich people such as Li Ka-shing are laid out to elongate telomeres and achieve physiological rejuvenation through dietary agents such as "Palovi".
Telomere shortening is a recognized biological marker of senile age by scientists, and the coenzyme substances in the "Palovir" supplement since this year have been certified by tsinghua-Peking University Life Sciences Joint Center, Sichuan University School of Medicine, the University of New South Wales, Harvard Laboratory and other well-known institutions to have more potential in interventional aging. Under the endorsement of many parties, the tonic became a hit in The East.
Life science and technology update iteration, Musk still insists that human beings should not fight aging
With the continuous development of life science and technology, ways to intervene in the elderly are endless. There are not only Lee-style "Palovi" class supplements; there are "O2ARK" hyperbaric oxygen chambers used by player James to rejuvenate; or radical blood exchange therapy like the radical blood exchange therapy used by Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Tille, but Musk still refuses to fight aging.
In September, he mocked Altos, a biotechnology company founded by Bezos (mentioned above, which is targeted to eliminate elderly cells), and then publicly stated: If humans are alive all the time, society will be unable to give birth to new ideas due to rigidity, and eventually civilizations will collapse, so I do not support the confrontation between humans and aging.
But his desire to attain eternal life through consciousness seems to run counter to his above-mentioned view that "society collapses in the absence of new ideas." The real idea of this realistic version of "Iron Man" is elusive, and can only wait for the 2022 clinical brain-computer interface to bring what he calls "surprises".