ni-neuralink-impant — Image courtesy Neuralink

Elon Musk: August 28th Update to Further Detail Neuralink’s Brain-computer Interface

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Jul 31, 2020

Elon Musk unveiled Neuralink nearly a year ago, and it appears we’ll be getting a progress update in August that further details the company’s research into brain-computer interfaces (BCIs).

Musk announced the event via Twitter earlier this month, however didn’t include any info as to what the progress update would entail.

Although the company is likely waiting for the big day to further details its research, Musk now says in a Tweet that the event will “show neurons firing in real-time on August 28th,” adding cryptically that it’s like “[t]he matrix in the matrix.”

Image courtesy Neuralink

The company’s ‘N1 sensor’ prototype implant was presented as a very small, implantable system on a chip (SoC) that has thin ‘threads’ that measure 4 to 6 μm in width. The company’s first implant is targeting disabled and/or diseased patients with damaged brain functions, such as spinal cord injuries.

The implant, which is supposed to attach to an external device that can be easily removed when not in use, is said to be capable of measuring spikes in the brain’s electrical current. The end goal is reading, processing, and eventually ‘writing’ information back to neurons via these tiny, flexible threads.

Gabe Newell on Brain-computer Interfaces: 'We're way closer to The Matrix than people realize'

What’s more, Musk said at the company’s unveiling that he wants Neuralink’s neural implants to one day become as common as LASIK outpatient procedures are today, something he continues to paint as the startup’s raison d’être.

Yes, should be possible to create a neural shunt from motor cortex to microcontrollers in muscle groups & restore movement even if someone has a fully severed spinal cord. First part has already been demonstrated with Utah array, but not as an outpatient device.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 30, 2020

As mentioned last year, the startup hopes to facilitate this sort of outpatient procedure by creating its own neurosurgical robot capable of inserting six threads (192 electrodes) per minute, the company says in its first research paper.

Neuralink’s ambitions are fairly clear: start a company that will one day serve neuro-typical users, and not just those with disabilities. What isn’t clear is how the company will get there, which is something we hope to learn more about on August 28th.

In the meantime, if you want to learn more about Neuralink, check out our wrap-up of the startup’s inaugural event which covers everything from the N1 sensor to the surgical robots the company unveiled last year.

SamuelThomas

This will take interactive porn to 11.
- Clownworld14
  
  eh, not something to be happy about, basically a natural addiction will become even more addictive, crazy.
Jim P

Nope. Want do it.
Sofian

But what about the FOV?
DeenVR

No HDMI, no buy
- dk
  
  hdmi can be arranged …don’t worry :P
TonyVT SkarredGhost

I can’t wait for August, 28th to come!
Zerofool

Elon’s discussion with Joe Rogan on the matter (not the famous video, there’s a more recent one) details some of the possible timelines. Basically, the interesting stuff is 5-10 years away at the earliest (in case civilization is not interrupted by unforeseen events), but still, having the Matrix in 2030 would be a colossal achievement (not to mention the astronomical IQ boost which is the actual goal).
- Kevin White
  
  2130 is more likely. Still fascinating to speculate no matter what the timeframe becomes.
  - aasdfa
    
    why 2130? what do u know about neuroscience? because the things elon has said are possible, its actually not that far off from what others have already done.
    - Clownworld14
      
      because throughout history humans have overestimated how easy it is to reach goals, we were supposed to have flying cars by now according to our great granddads. So being skeptical about predictions is sensible, as it often turns out that the more you look at something, the more complex it is. These things take time.
- Ad
  
  “having the Matrix in 2030 would be a colossal achievement”
  
  Ah yes, I remember the movie. “This is the real world Neo, black skies, humanity is enslaved, and everything is dead. It is a colossal achievement.”
  - Beldarak
    
    Heh, the real world being f***** up as nothing to do with the Matrix itself.
    - Ad
      
      … Of course it does. Did you not see the movie?
      - Beldarak
        
        The sky was blackened by humans as a way to fight machines (who depended on solar energy):
        
        “We don’t know who struck first, us or them, but we know that it was us that scorched the sky. At the time, they were dependent on solar power and it was believed that they would be unable to survive without an energy source as abundant as the sun.” – Morpheus in the first movie.
        
        The overall destruction comes from the war between mankind and the machines. The Matrix comes into play later and is just a way to keep humans under controls while using them as an electrical source.
      - Ad
        
        “is just a way to keep humans under controls while using them as an electrical source.”
        
        I meant the state of the world in general, the machines still would have killed all organic life.
brubble

I propose a rocket trip to the Sun for Musk, Zuck, Bezos and Trump.
- as
  
  i think elons actually provided some good services while the rest of the list have actively fucked people over. big difference.
  - brubble
    
    Thats a subjective opinion at its finest. Musk is just another self absorbed “billionaire” with a money always comes first mindset.
  - Ad
    
    What has he done? He has a company that has done well at privatizing space, but his car company has never performed that well and none of his other businesses are particularly useful or interesting. People like him for no reason, it’s all hype and he’s making bank in the pandemic.
    - Beldarak
      
      Oh yeah, he makes money and not all his companies are succesful, definitely a good reason to burn someone to death… :|
      - Ad
        
        You talk about this man with 50 billion dollars who broke quarantine rules to force his people to work like he’s just your average joe.
      - Beldarak
        
        True. I still believe that he did at least some good things, contrary to the other names, but I must admit you’re right.
Jim P

Elon the China lover can kiss it. I don’t want someone who thinks communism is cool to have control of my brain
- Cragheart
  
  Elon posts on Twitter that communism doesn’t work, he never said it’s cool, but the opposite.
- Cragheart
  
  Stop writing when you don’t know anything you’re writing about.
  - Jim P
    
    On CNBC he said it. It’s easy to look up. Not hard so yes I know what I am talking about.All about the money and cheap slave labor.
Ted Joseph

Damn… Hope I live long enough to upload my brain to the cloud, and live forever through the eyes of any device that will accept me…
ematter

The technology for what looks like a cycle helmet put on your head combined with AI to map your words, feelings, senses to specific locations in your neural net has been a around for a while; for example using thoughts to control a wheel chair or computer game. Musk has proposed boosting intelligence, streaming music and even telepathic communication, where two user can hear someone else’s words or thoughts; then have their own words or thoughts projected to the other person to communicate. You might ask if that person has ever cheated on their husband or wife, and their response will return at the speed of thought.

The new world of enhanced intelligence will certainly be more honest and interesting. Pandora’s box is open, and sticking your head in the ground isn’t going to stop progress. A device doesn’t have to be placed on top the skull, it can easily be bypassed via the nose and mouth. The technology could be used to enhance intelligence with a photographic memory, a full dive experience would also be possible, inducing sleep paralysis then the game would pass the location of objects and let the brain interpret the detail, much like a vivid dream. It is an exciting world with a lot of possibility and the technology is very accessible with a great deal of business interest and investment.
- Ad
  
  “sticking your head in the ground isn’t going to stop progress.”
  
  Human cloning is possible yet we aren’t doing it, almost like we aren’t slaves to what is technically possible with science.
  - ematter
    
    Prototype expect in 2021; do you think Putin, ex-KGB, might consider investing heavily in such technology? Potentially hidden, allowing someone to hear the very thoughts of their rivals. Plant this device in foreign governments or scientists and you “not only” get every password and technical/political thought, but have the ability to manipulate those people/governments; not economic might, something far more sinister. It is a lot easier to defend against such technology if we thoroughly understand it and prepare for it, however sticking our heads in the ground will only leave us very exposed.
    
    A country which is able to significantly boost its populations intelligence using such devices, for example shared intelligence / neural nets, a photographic memory, ready access to skills and knowledge as if native memories, would indeed have a significant advantage over other countries. The issue is less about what is technically possible, but if we can afford the luxury of ignorance in an area where we know it is full of landmines.
    
    A “deep dive”, sleep paralysis combined with manipulating the mind to experience full VR; where the server can even exercise your body while you are under; work or play. The possibilities are mind blowing in every sense of the word.
    - Ad
      
      This doesn’t sound crazy to you?
      - ematter
        
        Neuralink: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jOjh6lwp9w
        
        “Sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
        
        We definitely do not want to see this as magic.
      - Ad
        
        I don’t think nukes are magic, I want them all dismantled.
    - Bloadrick
      
      We are so far from that mate, so far that I would be happy to see the world you describe one day.
Walter Sharrow

This is a bit… ridiculous. It’s like trying to control a computer by shoving wires in random parts of the case and hoping they connect to something useful.

The best they can hope is that people train the interface to be something useful, the same way you train your fingers to move when you were a baby. Of course, even that is doomed to failure, as the electrodes should be shoved into the Cerebellum, not the flip’n Cerebral Cortex!

The Cerebellum controls muscle movements and has the best feedback look for brain/computer interfaces. It’s where all of your muscle memory ends up. When you think “A” on the keyboard and touch type, it’s your lower-animal brain that puts your finger on the A. Your Cerebral Cortex is the part of your brain that figures out WHY you ever wanted to hit “A” to begin with. Even the Occipital Lobe makes more sense, as that’s where you see.

The impact of adding random wires to the Cerebral Cortex will cause such minute changes to your thoughts, it might be impossible to even see the results. You might suddenly realize that Mayonnaise is a superior condiment to Ketchup. Or that the best color for a sports car is Blue. It’s utterly useless!

The Cerebral Cortex is a wild, chaotic birthplace of thought, each utterly unique to the individual. Decoding it through brute force monitoring is madness. We can’t current decode the workings of a cockroach’s brain, much less something x1,000,000,000 more complex. This entire project is such a wild stab in the dark!
- Clownworld14
  
  uncharted territory for sure, but I’m sure our great grandkids will be glad we took these first steps as they’ll have considerable advancements by then.
  - Ad
    
    Or they’ll be living in a dystopia of our making.
    - Bloadrick
      
      We’re already in mate, can we at least have fun on the road ?
      - Ad
        
        Road goes off a cliff so let’s get off it.
Ad

He needs to be shot into space and never recovered.