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15 out of 23 monkeys have died in Neuralink's trial to link the human brain to a computer. The firm, that belongs to Tesla chief Elon Musk is conceiving implants to be able to communicate with machines by thought.
The San Francisco-based company aims to implant wireless brain-computer chips to help cure neurological conditions like Alzheimer's, dementia and spinal cord injuries and fuse humankind with artificial intelligence.
Neuralink works by recording and decoding electrical signals from the brain using more than 2,000 electrodes implanted in regions of the monkeyâs motor cortex that coordinate hand and arm movements.
Musk has a history of bringing together diverse experts to develop technology previously limited to academic labs through companies such as Tesla Inc, SpaceX and Boring Co.
He has become an outspoken doomsayer about the threat artificial intelligence might one day pose to the human race. Continued growth in AI cognitive capabilities, he and like-minded critics suggest, could lead to machines that can outthink and outmaneuver humans with whom they might have little in common.
Also read | Elon Musk's Neuralink to start clinical trials of implanting brain chips in humans
Hooking a brain up directly to electronics is not new. Doctors implant electrodes in brains to deliver stimulation for treating such conditions as Parkinsonâs disease, epilepsy and chronic pain. In experiments, implanted sensors have let paralyzed people use brain signals to operate computers and move robotic arms
But Muskâs proposal goes beyond this. Neuralink wants to build on those existing medical treatments as well as one day work on surgeries that could improve cognitive functioning.
Neuralink is not the only company working on artificial intelligence for the brain.
Entrepreneur Bryan Johnson, who sold his previous payments startup Braintree to PayPal for $800 million, started Kernel, a company working on âadvanced neural interfacesâ to treat disease and extend cognition, in 2016.
(With inputs from agencies)