Elon Musk claims a monkey uses Neuralink to ‘play games with his mind’

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Elon Musk claims his startup Neuralink connected a chip to the brain of a monkey that the primate is now using to play video games with its mind.

Musk said Neuralink is currently developing brain implants that help people with paralysis control devices with their thoughts.

He added that the technology could also allow people to communicate through their minds or save their brain so that when they die, it is uploaded to another body.

The Tesla tycoon provided the rare update on Neuralink during a Sunday appearance in the Clubhouse app that was accessible by invitation only.

[Read: How this company leveraged AI to become the Netflix of Finland]

He described the device as “a Fitbit in your skull with little wires going to your brain.”

We already have a monkey with a wireless implant in their skull and the little wires that can play video games with its mind.

If you’re concerned about the poor animal with cables stuck in his brain, Musk promised “he’s a happy monkey.”

He said a U.S. Department of Agriculture inspector called the lab “the most beautiful monkey facilities” she had ever seen in her career. ‘

The richest person in the world now wants the monkeys to “play mind-pong with each other”.

He has also invited anyone who has worked on advanced wearables, phones or robots to apply for a job at Neuralink.

Slowing down the hype train

Neuralink’s tests have so far been limited to pigs and primates, but that hasn’t stopped Musk from speculating about the potential for humans:

If two people had a Neuralink, you could do conceptual telepathy, where you have a complex set of concepts and you can just transfer them directly, uncompressed, to the other person. This would greatly improve the quality of communication and its speed. There are other pretty wild things that can be done. You could probably save the condition in the brain and so if you died, your condition could be brought back into another human body or a robotic body.

Musk added that Neuralink has already successfully tested implantation, removal and reimplantation. He said the company will “likely” be releasing new videos shortly showing progress.

But Musk’s claims should be taken with a good pinch of salt for now.

The SpaceX founder had previously promised to have a million robotic taxis on the road by 2020. His recent Neuralink demo also fell short of the hype.

Credit: Steve Jurvetson