In July 2019, in San Francisco, the American billionaire and inventor Elon Musk presented his Neuralink project, the goal of which is to create electronic chips implanted into the human brain. It is assumed that with the help of such an implanted microdevice, people who are deprived of the ability to move will be able to use the power of thought to type text on a computer screen or work with the necessary sites on the Internet. Musk promises that the practical use of such chips will begin in 2020.
Minute operation
The miniature device implanted in the brain consists of a bundle of filaments 4 to 6 micrometers thick (that is, about 16 times thinner than a human hair). These filaments contain dozens of electrodes that pick up brain signals. The information will first go to the "adapter", which will be located behind the ear. So far, a USB-C connector is used to connect it to the chip (it is used in the new generation Apple MacBook tablets), but in the future Neuralink developers plan to switch to wireless technology.
The chip is implanted by a robotic surgeon who drills the finest holes in the skull. The implantation lasts no more than a minute. The robot uses high-quality optics to help avoid touching blood vessels and vital centers during operation. According to Elon Musk, currently such a procedure is similar to an operation to correct vision and is carried out using local anesthesia. But in the future, the company hopes to use lasers and do implantation without anesthesia.
It is assumed that four such chips will be installed in the human brain. Three of them will be located in the area responsible for motor skills, and one in the somatosensory area (responsible for sensing external stimuli). The entire system can be easily controlled using a computer or smartphone.
For the development of intelligence
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The Neuralink project employs scientists from Stanford University, located near San Francisco. According to Musk, the chips were tested on 19 laboratory rats, and the introduction was successful in 87 percent of cases. The presentation showed one of the experimental rodents with a USB-C port on their head - and demonstrated how the parameters of the animal's brain activity are transmitted. The project staff claim that, compared with the initial indicators, by improving the system, they managed to accelerate the transfer of information from the brain to the computer ten times.
Neuralink has existed since 2017 and employs 90 scientists and laboratory assistants. Elon Musk suggests that over time, scientists will develop a system that will directly connect the human brain to a computer - that is, it will be able to combine natural and artificial intelligence.
The company is currently testing the implantation of chips in primates. To begin experiments on humans, it is necessary to obtain the approval of the American agency FDA (Food and Drug Administration). There is already a record of volunteer testers on Musk's Twitter page. They are selected from among people with serious health problems - paralyzed or deprived of limbs. They dream of being able to control computers and mobile devices with the power of thought. At the same time, according to Musk, the typing speed will reach 40 words per minute, which roughly corresponds to the parameters of a professional typist.
The businessman himself and the CEO of the company invested $ 100 million in the project, another 50 million were given by other investors. Elon Musk claims that in the future, such chips will help to successfully treat Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, as well as prevent brain dysfunctions in healthy people. According to the inventor, such implants will enhance the work of neurons and comprehensively develop human intelligence.
Previous experiments
At first glance, such ideas look fantastic. But previous cases of successful implantation of microdevices into the human brain convince the opposite. For example, former American football player Matthew Nagle from Weymouth, Massachusetts became disabled in 2001 and could not move his arms. He was offered to participate in an experiment on the implementation of the "BrainGate" system (literally - "brain gate"), developed by the American company Cybernetics Neurotechnology Systems. A sensory implant was implanted into the patient's head - a square plate measuring four by four millimeters with hundreds of tiny electrodes in the form of metal needles that penetrate directly into the cerebral cortex. Thanks to this, the man was able to control the cursor on the computer screen and switch TV programs. It was enough for him to imagine the movement of his hand - and the sensor implanted in his head transmitted signals to the connected device.
In much the same way, other patients were able to handle prosthetic hands. In 2012, the journal Nature published an article about the deprived Katie Hutchison, who was able to drink coffee without assistance.
Neil Harbisson, who was born in Catalonia, the son of an Englishman and a Spanish woman, was born with congenital achromatopsia, a rare disease that makes a person see the world only in black and white. In 2004, a special device, an electronic eye, was implanted into his head. It looks like a flexible antenna protruding from the skull, hanging at the level of the forehead. Attached to this structure is an optical sensor that picks up the colors of objects in front of Neal's eyes. A microchip implanted in the head converts light waves into the vibrations of the back of the head. Thus, Neil Harbisson acquired an ability that other people do not have - he hears colors!
The device is charged via a USB device in the back of Neal's head. In 2009, scientists at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia improved the antenna microchip, which allowed Harbisson to perceive colors that an ordinary person cannot distinguish: in the infrared and ultraviolet ranges.
Future technology
Elon Musk claims that the work of Neuralink is fundamentally different from previous experiments. Old-style implant devices use thin metal needles that can damage the brain. Musk suggests placing ultra-thin polymer threads in the head, the implantation of which requires minimal surgical intervention.
Many Western media call this project a secret, because all the company's developments until recently were strictly classified. Only a year after the start of the experiments, in the spring of 2018, Musk announced at one of the technology conferences in the United States that his company was working on chips implanted into the brain. At the same time, the entrepreneur talked about a slightly different use of these devices: to improve memory (for example, load & chip data of any foreign language - and speak it almost immediately), and also help people read their minds.
Now the entrepreneur declares about the tasks that are less ambitious (just to type text and open computer sites), but more realistic at this stage. At the same time, many scientists are somewhat skeptical about his new project.
Firstly, the obscure statistics of the experiments are confusing: out of 19 experiments on rats, 87 percent were successful. But anyone who has a calculator handy can calculate: 87% of 19 = 16.53! How can 16 and a half operations be successful?
Secondly, specialists familiar with the introduction of medical preparations or devices will immediately note that 19 experiments are negligible, their number should be in the thousands.
Thirdly, for such loud statements, you should wait for the results of experiments with human participation, despite the fact that US regulatory authorities may not give permission to conduct them. After all, the body usually forms scar tissue in a place that it considers an injury. And even the use of a robotic surgeon and the finest polymer threads does not guarantee that this will not happen. Scar tissue can impair not only signal transmission, but also the functioning of the brain as a whole. In addition, there are some other problems: for example, implanted electrodes in the brain can cause salt deposition around them - this will also affect mental performance.
According to a number of experts, the technology proposed by Musk is extremely important and interesting, but so far it is ahead of the capabilities of modern equipment.
At the same time, no one expresses fundamental objections. The scientific community is confident that the time for the merging of natural and computer intelligences will definitely come - and, perhaps, much faster than we think.
Magazine: Secrets of the 20th century №35. Author: Margarita Kapskaya