Neuralink is preparing to implant a brain chip in a second patient in about a week. This was announced by the company's founder Elon Musk, Bloomberg reports.
During the discussion on the X platform, the billionaire and several Neuralink employees spoke about the capabilities of the current device and future prospects, such as the treatment of paralysis and memory loss.
In the short term, the company aims to help patients with brain and spinal cord injuries by enabling them to control smartphones and computers with their minds. To do this, it implants a device it calls Telepathy.
Elon Musk has noted that the long-term goal “is to mitigate the longer civilizational risk of AI.” He claims that Neuralink can help with this by creating a "closer symbiosis between human and digital intelligence." The billionaire said the idea "is to give people superpowers."
The team also discussed future generations of the device. The founder of Neuralink said that patients with older models should be able to upgrade to newer ones.
“You want the iPhone 15,” said Elon Musk. “Not the iPhone 1.”
In early 2024, Neuralink implanted the chip in its first patient, Nolan Arbaugh, who was paralyzed from the shoulders down after an accident. Thanks to the device, the man was able to play video games, browse the Internet, and move the cursor on his laptop with his mind.
Shortly after the first operation, it became known that there were some problems with the device. However, software changes made by the company allowed Nolan Arbaugh to restore many of the device's capabilities.
Subsequently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave Neuralink the green light to implant the brain chip in a second person. Recently, it became known that the company was preparing for a transaction, but the plan was postponed.