In other words, in addition to Musk building cars and rockets, he also has a company called Neuralink.
It is because of this company's research that Musk was recently accused of abusing monkeys.
["Extreme pain": Of the 23 monkeys that Musk put on brain chips, 15 died.] 】
It all started in 2016.
That year, Musk and others founded a company called Neuralink.
This is a company that studies brain-computer docking technology.
The goal is to help people recover from brain injuries, spinal injuries, treat depression and other mental disorders, and connect humans directly to the internet.
At that time, playing mobile phones did not require fingers, and songs could be played directly with brain ideas, and even close telepathic thought exchanges could be carried out between people.
How?
It's about implanting a chip in the brain.
The brain-computer docking device they studied consisted of a miniature probe with more than 3,000 electrodes on it. Electrodes are connected to soft lines thinner than human hair to monitor the activity of neurons in 1,000 human brains.
In 2020, Musk showed off a piglet that had already been implanted with a Neuralink chip.
Musk said in a live demonstration that after the chip is implanted in the pig's brain, the signals of its brain can be read in real time.
This means that the technology of brain-computer connection may in the future allow those with neurological diseases to control mobile phones or computers with their minds.
In 2021, Musk's company showed a monkey implanted with a chip.
In the video, the monkey can play a game of ping-pong through the mind.
Musk also retweeted the video at the time.
And also said:
"Soon, you'll see our monkeys playing twitch and discord, haha."
At the time, Musk gave all sorts of beautiful possibilities on Twitter.
In July 2020, a netizen asked him on Twitter: Can Neuralink be used to retrain the part of the brain that causes depression and addiction? If Neuralink can be used to treat addiction and depression, that's great.
Musk replied: Of course, this is great and terrible.
When asked by netizens whether Neuralink can help people with obsessive-compulsive disorder and whether it can stimulate the release of oxytocin, serotonin and other chemicals.
Musk replied: Yes.
When asked if Neuralink could help people with injuries, autism and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS.
Musk replied: It has that potential.
Musk seems confident in the technology.
In 2021, the company posted that the company is working hard to communicate with the FDA, and if all goes well, it will be able to conduct human trials by the end of the year.
The technology gave hope to many people, and some paralyzed people at the time often begged Musk on social media to let them participate in human trials of the technology.
However, human trials that were originally expected to start in 2021 were postponed to 2022.
According to the recent discoveries of PCRM, it is even more difficult to feel that this chip is far from ready.
PCRM, whose full name is The Committee of Responsible Medical Physicians, is an animal rights organization.
At least 15 of the 23 monkeys at the University of California, Davis, fitted with Neuralink brain chips in 2017-2020, died or were euthanized, the group said.
PcRM said that by applying for university public records, they reviewed more than 700 pages of documents, veterinary records and autopsy reports.
Monkeys fitted with Neuralink brain chips were found to have "almost every health suffered quite severe health effects." ”
"Frankly, they're mutilating and killing animals." Jeremy Beckham, PCRM's director of research advocacy, said.
How is Neuralink's chip installed?
They had to drill a hole in the monkey's skull and put the chip in it.
One of the monkeys developed a bloody skin infection and had to be euthanized.
Another monkey was found missing fingers and toes.
"It could be caused by self-harm or by other unspecified trauma."
Another monkey vomited uncontrollably after the operation and, a few days later, collapsed in exhaustion/weakness. The autopsy report showed it had cerebral hemorrhage.
Currently, PCRM has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture alleging that UC Davis and Neuralink violated 9 animal protection laws.
"Many, if not all, monkeys experienced extreme pain in developing neuralink and Musk's publicly proclaimed 'brain-computer interfaces' because they were fitted with invasive head implants during experiments and inadequate care for the animals during the experiments."
"Those highly invasive chips, along with their associated hardware, which need to be drilled into the animal's skull and inserted into the brain, create repeated infections in the animals, seriously impairing their health and the integrity of their research."
A spokesperson for the University of California, Davis responded:
"We strive to provide the best possible care for the animals we are responsible for. Animal research is strictly regulated, and UC Davis follows all applicable laws and regulations, including those of the U.S. Department of Agriculture."
At the same time, the spokesperson said that they have stopped working with Neuralink in 2020.
Neuralink has not responded.
After this matter was exposed, many netizens were angry.
"For the sake of his sci-fi fantasies, the fear and torture suffered by the monkeys made my blood boil."
"Don't hurt the monkeys!! Nobody wants a special brain chip!!! ”
"Musk made me think of him"
"I wonder if neuralink can cure Ace Borg syndrome? If he could, he should be the first to go to a clinical trial. "
"No, it's not. Why was the project approved? Simply not human. "
"I'm not at all surprised that Musk is doing this kind of animal experiment."
"I want to say something obvious but controversial.
My reference is this article, and if it is true, then the ethics of this study will be questioned. I'm not against animal experimenting, I've done it myself.
From the biologist's point of view, biologists have the right to do animal experiments. But when doing experiments, it is necessary to ensure that the animals do not overburden the pain. But as far as reporting on Lymask's behavior is concerned, it is immoral. "
In the eyes of many ordinary people, the whole thing has changed from a "human light" project to a cruel experiment full of spray points...