In 2016, Musk founded Neuralink, a brain-computer interface company.
Over the past few years, the company has been working on how to combine the human brain with a chip.
This is done by removing a small piece of human skull, covering it with a coin-sized, battery-powered chip, and then sewing electrode wires thinner than a human hair attached to the chip into the area of the brain responsible for controlling motor intentions.
After a successful operation, the electrodes will read and transmit the brain's nerve signals to infer the person's intentions and realize the exchange of information between the human brain and external devices.
In other words, the brain only needs to "think" to give instructions and manipulate external devices, such as computers and mobile phones.
(Neuralink采用的N1植入物)
Of course, the technology is not so mature at the moment. Neuralink's initial goal was simply to give people control the cursor or keyboard of their computers by mind.
The original users of this technology, or experimenters, were paralyzed or limb-losing people who wanted them to be able to easily control electronic devices and become more independent. In the future, it may also be possible to control robotic arms and electric wheelchairs, so that science fiction movies can be brought to life.
(Schematic diagram)
It's just that the process of realizing the idea is not easy.
After it is said that more than 1,500 experimental animals were sacrificed, and the human experiment plan was postponed for many years after being criticized and attacked by all walks of life...... Finally, in May last year, Neuralink ushered in their long-awaited news -
They have received FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approval to conduct the first human brain-computer interface experiment.
Soon they found their first volunteer: 29-year-old Noland Arbaugh. Eight years ago, he was paralyzed from the shoulder down in a diving accident and had to rely on an electric wheelchair to move around.
Noland agreed to participate in a six-year trial of Neuralink to test the safety of the technology, and at the end of January this year, a brain-computer chip was officially implanted.
A few weeks after the operation, Musk excitedly announced that everything went well, Noland recovered well after the operation, there were no adverse effects, and he could already move the cursor on the computer screen with his mind.
（首位实验者Noland Arbaugh）
Then, on March 20th, Noland demonstrated this skill in a live stream started by Neuralink.
I saw him sitting in front of the computer, his hands did not move, and he could play chess with the cursor on the screen smoothly with his mind alone. He explained that he only had to imagine that the cursor would move where he wanted it to go.
（Noland Arbaugh直播玩游戏）
Noland is very excited about this, he is a game enthusiast himself, every time he wants to use an electronic device after being paralyzed, he can only use the stylus in his mouth to operate the tablet, the stylus must also be maintained at a certain angle, long-term use will not only cause muscle fatigue, but also may cause pressure ulcers, which is very inconvenient.
(Schematic diagram)
But now with the chip, Noland can operate electronic devices just by lying comfortably in bed, which not only liberates the body, but also reduces psychological pressure, because he no longer has to trouble other people to help him adjust his posture, nor does he have to take care of other people's time, and now he can go online whenever he wants, and can operate continuously for 8 to 10 hours until the chip battery is exhausted.
This gave Noland a lot of fresh experiences, and his life became rich again, even beating his friends in the game. He said he was very fortunate to have received a chip transplant, "which changed his life."
But he also said that chips are not perfect.
(Noland Arbaugh用意念玩了各种游戏)
And the meaning of this phrase "imperfect" was soon revealed......
On Wednesday, Neuralink published an article revealing that there were some problems with Noland's implants -
It turned out that a few weeks after surgery, in late February, some of the electrode wires implanted in his brain were retracted from the brain tissue.
The reduction in the number of active electrodes results in a decrease in data transfer speed and a decrease in chip functionality. It is unclear how many electrode wires are separated.
Remedies taken by Neuralink include modifying the algorithm to make it more sensitive to neural signals, improving the technology for translating neural signals into cursor movements, and enhancing the user interface.
It is said that Noland's chip data transfer speed has been successfully restored, even beyond the initial state.
At the moment, it seems that there really is no particularly noticeable impact on Noland.
He is still able to use his mind to manipulate electronic devices, and even if the chip fails, he uses the technology for up to 8 hours a day on average, and even up to 10 hours on weekends.
Last weekend night, he was still playing games live on "X (formerly Twitter)", and it all seemed to be going well.
(Last weekend, Noland Arbaugh played the game live again)
As for why the electrode wire suddenly retracted, Neuralink did not give a clear reason.
According to a person familiar with the matter, after discussion within the company, it is believed that Noland's skull may have entered some air after the operation, which is called "pneumocephalus", and if not treated in time, severe cases may have seizures, brain abscesses and even death......
Staff were concerned and discussed removing Noland's brain chip entirely.
But so far, it seems that Noland's health has not been affected, and the "removal plan" has not been implemented.
The problem did not hit Neuralink this time, and the company said that setbacks in clinical trials were inevitable, and the main thing is to solve problems and learn lessons, which they are optimistic about.
(Schematic diagram)
As for what's next, Neuralink has informed the FDA that it believes it has found a solution to the Noland implant issue and hopes to implant two more patients in the coming months after a safety review of Noland.
Now the company is already recruiting volunteers, and they plan to implant a total of 10 patients with microchips by the end of the year.
It's just that after revealing the problems that have arisen in Noland, the move to continue the experiment seems to be somewhat "quick success", which is inevitably unsettling.
Where the rapid development of technology will take humanity can only be answered in the future......