{"id":145373,"date":"2019-07-24T17:23:50","date_gmt":"2019-07-24T17:23:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sftarticles.wpenginepowered.com\/en\/?p=145373"},"modified":"2025-07-01T21:39:00","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T04:39:00","slug":"mentally-control-devices-with-brain-chip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/mentally-control-devices-with-brain-chip\/","title":{"rendered":"Mentally control your devices with a brain chip"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Even in a benign AI scenario, we will be left behind,” Elon Musk<\/a> spoke glumly of our pathetic odds in the wake of an AI apocalypse like something out of “Terminator”<\/a> or “Avengers: Age of Ultron.”<\/a>\u00a0While we’re not enlisting the help of The Vision or Sarah Connor just yet, there is a kernel of truth here: We’re integrating more sophisticated tech into our phones, our appliances, our houses, and our cars – but we’re leaving behind one valuable part of the equation – us.<\/p>\n

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Integrating AI and organic life? Mass Effect did it first.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Musk’s strategy is not to try and one-up ourselves over tech; in his eyes, that’s a lost cause. But if you can’t beat ’em, Musk advises we join them.<\/p>\n

“I think with a machine interface we can go along for the ride and effectively have the option of merging with AI,” he said. He’s proposing a (very ambitious) concept of how to do just that.<\/p>\n

The idea<\/h3>\n

Symbiosis between human and machine has been a sci-fi concept since the days of Doctor Who and Star Trek, and because (or despite?) of its mainstream appeal, we’ve largely dismissed notions of making science fiction into science fact. Elon Musk is heading a new project to insert a computer connection directly into a human brain<\/strong>, creating a true cybernetic future, and have already taken the first steps with chimpanzees.<\/p>\n

“The monkey was able to control the computer with his brain, just FYI,” Musk said proudly. The team expects to be ready to move testing to human subjects by next year, and the process is allegedly as safe and painless as Lasik eye surgery<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Picard rocking an early prototype of Elon Musk’s chip<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Why this is new<\/h3>\n

If you’ve heard of similar tech, that’s because it (sort of) already exists: There are scattered FDA-approved devices that are intended for the disabled. Examples include a deep-brain stimulation device that helps people with Parkinson’s disease control their tremors.<\/p>\n

Musk’s new implant chip would be created by Neuralink<\/a>, his own brain-computer interface start-up. Neuralink is Musk’s own private company that he created back in 2016, and is based out of San Francisco. There’s one major difference that will bring Musk’s project to the forefront: The process.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Elon Musk\u2019s Neuralink Says It\u2019s Ready for Brain Surgery https:\/\/t.co\/SuF9DgEWjJ<\/a><\/p>\n

— Neuralink (@neuralink) July 17, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n