Elon Musk's Brain Implant Fans Queue Up

Neuralink Corp., started by Elon Musk and a group of scientists in 2016, is finally ready for human trials of their brain chip. Elon Musk says it could change humanity and people are excited to be a part of it.

Adam Woodworth, a 40-year-old security manager for a museum in Indianapolis, is interested in the potential of Neuralink's device. He suffers from short-term memory loss due to a military injury. Woodworth thinks that technology could bring humans and medicine together. He's fascinated by the idea of using Neuralink to treat Alzheimer's disease and brain disorders like his. Musk is a big supporter of this idea. Woodworth knows there are risks, but he's willing to be brave and help by trying the device out. He hopes the Neuralink team will give him a chance to participate.

Woodworth says that he's not sure if it's possible right away. He also owns a Tesla and thinks it would be cool to communicate with it using only his mind.

Musk says some wild things about Neuralink, but the company is serious about brain-computer interfaces. They've made a BCI that goes inside your skull and uses electrodes to read your brain's signals. These signals can be sent to a computer or other device. Neuralink is mostly interested in helping people with motor and spinal cord problems, but other researchers are also developing brain implants. These devices could help paralyzed people move and even write messages using their thoughts.

Musk spent $100 million on Neuralink. He says the implant can do amazing things like let paralyzed people use smartphones with their mind. He also thinks it can help people walk again and treat various mental and physical ailments. Neuralink could even link human brains with AI and create telepathic communication. It's unclear if these claims are true.

Many experts doubt Musk's optimistic claims about Neuralink's brain chips. The company has a culture of blame and missed deadlines, causing several founding members to leave. Blackrock Neurotech is a strong competitor, already implanting their chips in 30 people. Neuralink has faced two federal probes, one connected to whistleblower claims about mistreatment of 1,500 animals in experiments since 2018. The internet sometimes focuses more on the alleged animal torture than on Neuralink's neuroscience advancements.

Last year, FDA prevented Neuralink from entering the next phase of their research due to safety concerns. Neuralink spent a year fixing the problems. Now, FDA has approved their clinical trials with humans. The FDA said they evaluated the potential risks and benefits before giving their approval.

Musk congratulated the Neuralink team on Twitter, as he owns the platform. The road to more research is open, and a big question is who will be the first to have a chip embedded in their brain.

People on social media asked Musk about Neuralink's device and how to join the clinical trials. But not everyone can sign up. You can add your name to a patient registry to see if you're eligible. You need to have quadriplegia, paraplegia, vision loss, hearing loss, or be unable to speak.

Most tech enthusiasts can't participate in Neuralink's clinical trial yet. They don't care about the bad publicity. They're happy the FDA approved it and believe it will succeed. Seven people interviewed said they would join the trial right away. They don't have any concerns about the chip's safety or its capabilities.

Lyric Caballero, a piercing and tattoo artist in Dallas, has waited for years for this. She isn't worried about the reports of animals dying in Neuralink labs because they were killed in early trials. It's FDA-approved now, so Lyric isn't dissuaded from becoming a test subject. She thinks the Neuralink team is dedicated to researching and developing this technology.

Caballero has arthritis and hopes Neuralink can help. Her arthritis makes it hard to work as an artist. Sometimes she can't even move her fingers without pain. Many people who like Neuralink have health problems too.

Feudi Pandola, a financial aid officer in Philadelphia, is interested in Neuralink because he thinks it can add years to life expectancy. Susan Holden Martin, a college educator in New Hampshire, is also interested in the potential enhancements of Neuralink, especially as she gets older and worries about cognitive decline. She doesn't have an opinion on whether FDA approval for human trials was premature, but she feels like it's not too early.

People who support Neuralink often say that Elon Musk is the right person to make progress in brain-computer interfaces. One person mentions how Musk is always looking to improve his products and services, thanks to his experience with SpaceX. This person thinks Musk will only release products that are perfect. However, some people who own Teslas may disagree, as Tesla cars are often recalled. Another supporter thinks Musk has achieved many great things that the media doesn't acknowledge.

Martin thinks Neuralink is the best at brain implants. She says technology is growing fast and new companies keep appearing, but her bet is on Neuralink. Pandola says Musk is the right person to lead Neuralink, like Steve Jobs led Apple. Harris agrees that Elon Musk is the one who will make the brain chip a reality.

Harris wants to use Neuralink’s technology to help with his bipolar disorder. He hasn't taken any traditional medication yet. Harris is interested in trying something different. He likes technology and wants to improve the world. If given the opportunity, he would try the trial. He thinks he would be a good candidate because his IQ is low.

Musk's biotech company isn't just for medical things. He might have overstated its potential for that. But he's saying it can make us better cyborgs. John Kalning, who makes YouTube videos about AI, thinks Neuralink could help him with his creative work.

When I learned about Neuralink, I got interested in playing with my brain.

Kalning has already invested in using AI tools to go beyond traditional methods and wants to go even further. He thinks a Neuralink trial could help him do this. Kalning believes connecting his mind with AI could uncover new ways of creating art and making films. He's thrilled about the idea of being a part of the AI world.

Brock Brown is interested in Neuralink. He wants to be able to mess with his own brain. He thinks it would be cool to download stuff, control his emotions, and have weird experiences. He has a big idea, too. He thinks this could be a huge change like when cells came together to make animals. It could strip away fakeness and give people a chance to live honest lives.

Brown is unsure if it will be Neuralink or something else that creates this new world. He does know that being there at the start of it is a unique opportunity. Brown believes that it's worth risking everything to experience this leap into the future. He wants to be one of the first people to taste it.

Many people have different ideas about what a neural implant supported by Musk could mean. However, they all agree that the impact will be huge and we should not be afraid of it. Some people are worried about the risks and uncertainty, but others see endless possibilities. This dream of a brain chip as a cure-all for humanity is relying on Musk's salesmanship and not the entire biomedical industry.

Neuralink may not have a finished product for a while. The company might not reach their goal if investigations and bad news continues. Musk could change or cancel the plan because he can be unpredictable. People are excited about transhumanism but they might have to wait a long time for human trials. People want a better future now, not later.