Chip in human brain: Mobile phones and computers to work on telepathy; Elon Musk's implant successfully tested

SAN FRANCISCO: With a chip implanted in the brain, you can operate your phone and computer without touching it with your hands. All the user has to do is just think about it. That too has been made a reality by science.

A brain-computer interface chip that enables telepathic communication between the human brain and a computer has been successfully tested. Billionaire Elon Musk's startup Neuralink was the first to implant a chip in the brain. The chip was implanted on Sunday in a paralysis patient. The chip is called Telepathy.

The experiment is called PRIME (Precise Robotically Implanted Brain-Computer Interface). The first trial was in people with paralysis from the neck down and muscle weakness due to spinal cord injury.

A cure for Alzheimer's

• Life will be easier for the physically challenged and those suffering from neuro diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.
• Human performance can also be enhanced by combining it with artificial intelligence.

Wireless battery charge

• The implant, called Link, is about the size of five stacked coins. It will be implanted by robotic surgery in the part of the brain that controls human movements. It runs on a battery that can be charged wirelessly.
• Its fine gold and platinum threads transmit signals from the brain to the app when the person is thinking. The app will decode what the person is thinking.
• Smartphones, computer cursors, keyboards and any other connected device can be operated like this. The implant and the surgical robot are being tested to see how safe it is for humans.

"The first human received an implant from Neuralink yesterday and is recovering well. Initial results show promising neuron spike detection." - Elon Musk wrote on X

Enables control of your phone or computer, and through them almost any device, just by thinking.

Initial users will be those who have lost the use of their limbs.

Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a speed typist or auctioneer. That is the goal.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 30, 2024

Apart from increasing the capacity of the brain, they aim to increase it uncontrollably. There is concern about the consequences of controlling human thinking. The ultimate goal is to conquer the mind. To what extent is that possible? Technology may grow to such a degree tomorrow that it even reverses brain death. Not denying the current claim, but morality itself is a question mark. Should things be so fast?

Dr. K. Rajasekaran Nair

Neurologist, Former President of Neurological Society of India, Former Head of Department of Neuro, Thiruvananthapuram Medical College and Author