The SpaceX and Tesla CEO has said during a Neuralink demo that he could have a brain implant now, and no one would even know.
During a Neuralink conference on Wednesday, the Twitter owner took to the stage to deliver several updates on brain implant-company Neuralink, and what it expects to achieve in the near future. Musk, a founder of the brain chip company, said that Neuralink is planning on beginning human trials within the next six months and that the company is currently in conversation with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to receive regulatory approval.
Musk wrote on Twitter that internal testing at Neuralink has pushed the technology to the point where the team is confident the "Neuralink device is ready for humans". While on stage, the Tesla CEO said that he could have a Neuralink brain implant installed into his head "right now" and "you couldn't even know. I mean, hypothetically." Musk added that for one of Neuralink's future demos, he will have one installed and reveal it on stage, making an open pledge to be one of the first adopters of the experimental technology.
So, how far away is brain implants becoming a reality that we all now live in? According to Musk, it's closer than we may anticipate, as the Twitter owner said that he expects human trials to begin in six months, with no officially announced public rollout announced so far. Musk has previously claimed that Neuralink's brain implant will be targeting human health problems, loss of vision, and re-enabling muscle movement.
Musk has said in the past that the team behind Neuralink, along with himself, believe that the brain implant will be able to restore the vision of human if they have gone blind. Additionally, Musk said that Neuralink will be capable of giving vision to an individual that was born blind. Furthermore, the Neuralink CEO has said the device will be designed to solve paralysis in humans, allowing people to walk again.
Lastly, Musk mentioned on stage that adopters of the brain implant will likely need to go back for surgeries in the future to get the latest model of the brain implant put into their skull.
"Pretty sure you would not want an iPhone 1 stuck in your head if the iPhone 14 is available," Musk said.