Elon Musk has revealed that one of his startups has managed to get a monkey to play video games with its brain, thanks to a chip implanted in the monkey’s brain. Musk’s brain-hacking company, Neuralink, has been working to create a device made up of tiny probes with electrodes attached to tiny flexible wires that can monitor the activity of thousands of brain neurons.
He has started testing the technology on a monkey, and Musk says the animal was successfully able to control a computer with its brain.
“He’s a happy monkey,” Musk said during a conversation on the private social app Clubhouse, Bloomberg reports . Musk responded to questions about the latest developments of Neuralink, which was founded in 2017.
“We have a monkey with a wireless implant in its skull with tiny wires that can play video games with its brain. You can’t see where the implant is and he’s a happy monkey. We have the most beautiful monkey facilities in the world. We want them to play mind-pong with each other,” he told listeners.
Musk is the founder of both Tesla and SpaceX.
The goal of the technology is to use a chip to help people who have suffered brain and spinal cord injuries.
“There are primitive versions of this device with wires sticking out of your head, but this is like a Fitbit in your skull with little wires going into your brain,” Musk explained.
The technology has sparked mixed reactions, with some questioning whether it’s a wise move or not, but during a previous appearance on a Neuralink livestream, Musk explained it could help build a “digital super-intelligence layer” to help people link to AI and greatly help people with neurological disorders.
“If you know someone who has broken their neck, broken their spine – we can fix that with a chip. And this is something I think most people don’t understand yet, ” Musk said.
