As promised earlier this week, Elon Musk has shared a demonstration of his company’s brain-computer interface device, Neuralink. There was a severe lack of remote hacking and computer vision at the event, but the entrepreneur did prove that the device “works” with the help of three pigs, all of which had Neuralink devices implanted into their brains. This allowed audiences to get a look at their neural signals in real-time, which was pretty cool.
Neuralink engineers hope that the device (which recently underwent a newer, coin-shaped design) will be able to solve serious ailments, such as memory loss, hearing loss, blindness, and paralysis. It could even cure depression, anxiety, and addiction.
For now, Musk is promising that Neuralink’s “linking” (implantation) process will be a painless, in-and-out operation that’s equivalent to putting a “Fitbit in your skull.” In fact, test subjects may not even need anesthesia.
“He said the process of ‘getting a Link’ will not require general anesthesia and he hopes that a robot will ‘do the entire surgery in about an hour,” CNBC wrote. “Musk said that people who get the Neuralink device are left with a tiny scar after the electrodes are inserted in the brain — and if done well, there won’t be any blood.”
One of the slides shows a subject’s head cut open with a giant hole in his skull, though, so getting knocked out seems like a better plan. You can check out the full livestream below.
