What sets Elon Musk apart from others as an entrepreneur is that any venture he undertakes is born of a bold and inspiring vision for the future of our species. Musk recently announced the creation of a new company, Neuralink, which will focus on fusing the human mind with AI. Given Musk's track record of constantly trying to achieve the impossible, the world needs to pay extra attention to the words of someone who wants to connect our brains to computers.
Neuralink is registered as a California medical company. So far, its goals are relatively blurry in the short term and overly ambitious in the long term. She will try to create a "neural lace" - a neurocomputer interface that will be implanted directly into the human brain to monitor and enhance it.
In the short term, this technology will definitely find medical applications and can be used to treat paralysis or diseases like Parkinson's. In the coming decades, it could allow us to exponentially amplify our mental faculties or even digitize human consciousness. In essence, it is a step towards bringing people and machines closer together, and perhaps a leap in human development - one that will solve many of the problems we face.
Current state of research
Musk is neither the first nor the only one who wants to connect brains to machines. Another tech entrepreneur, Brian Johnson, founded startup Kernel in 2016 to similarly explore the possibilities of neurocomputer interfaces, and this scientific community has made great strides in recent years.
In April, scientists in Switzerland announced that paralyzed primates had learned to walk with a neuroprosthetic system. CNN reported that the man, paralyzed in the shoulders, regained the right hand function thanks to the brain-computer interface.
Over the past few years, there have been notable changes in both hardware and software for neurocomputer interfaces. Experts are developing more complex electrodes by programming better algorithms to interpret neural signals. Scientists have already been able to provide paralyzed patients with the ability to type with their minds and even linked their brains together using brain waves. Until now, most of the successful applications in this area have been to provide motor control, or simple communication, between people with brain injuries.
Nevertheless, there are many obstacles to the brain-computer interfaces.
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First, the most powerful and accurate NCIs require invasive surgery. Another challenge is the implementation of robust algorithms that can interpret the complex interactions of the brain's 86 billion neurons. Most of the progress also proceeded in one direction: from the brain to the machine. We have not yet developed an NCI that can provide us with sensory information or allow us to feel subjective experiences of tactile sensations - touch, temperature, or pain. Although there is still some progress in this direction.
There is also a common problem: our understanding of the brain is in its infancy. We have a long way to go to fully understand how and where various functions like consciousness, perception and self-awareness arise. To enhance or integrate these features with machines, we need to understand the physics that underlie them. Designing interfaces that can communicate with individual neurons and safely integrate with existing biological networks requires significant medical innovation.
However, it is important to remember that technology is advancing rapidly.
Rise of the cyborgs
Hollywood often portrays the dystopia of the future, when machines and people are at war with each other. But in fact, the exact opposite scenario is much more likely: in which people and machines merge together.
In many ways, we are already cyborgs.
Futurists like Jason Silva point out that our devices are essentially an abstract form of neurocomputer interface. We use smartphones to store and retrieve information, make calculations and communicate with each other. According to philosophers Andy Clarke and David Chalmers, according to their theory of the extended mind, we use technology to expand the boundaries of the human mind and go beyond our skulls. We use tools like machine learning to improve our cognitive skills or powerful telescopes to improve visual reach. Technology has become part of our exoskeleton, allowing us to go beyond our limitations.
Musk noted that the fusion of biological and machine intelligence may be necessary if we are to remain "biologically valuable." Neurocomputer interfaces will enable us to better take advantage of rapidly advancing artificial intelligence. With the rise of workplace automation, this may be the best way to keep up with machines that solve problems much more efficiently than we do.
Technologist Ray Kurzweil believes that by the 2030s, we will connect the brain's neocortex to the cloud using nanorobots. He notes that the neocortex is the source of all "beauty, love, creativity and intelligence in the world." It is noteworthy that due to its predictive accuracy, Kurzweil, according to Bill Gates and many others, is the best predictor of the world of technology.
We will soon find out whether Kurzweil is right or not. What will the future be like?
We could amplify our intelligence and imagination a thousandfold. This would radically change the way we think, the way we communicate and feel this world. Bringing thoughts and emotions directly into the heads of others will open up a new society and intimacy for us. Ultimately, loading ourselves into machines will allow us to emerge from biological skin and become digitally immortal.
The implications are truly profound, and many questions remain unanswered. What will the subjective experience of human consciousness be like when our brains are digitized? How can we prevent our brains from trying to hack and overwrite, stuffed with unwanted thoughts? How to provide access to neurocomputer interfaces to everyone, not just the rich and powerful? There are many questions and it's time to start looking for answers.
Ilya Khel