From Tesla cars in space to Boring Company flamethrowers, Elon Musk is known for his weird and wonderful ideas.
Now, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO has turned his attention to brain implants, which he claims could enable ‘superhuman intelligence.’
Musk’s firm, Neuralink, has started testing this ‘brain-computer interface’ technology, and says that it could be ready by 2020.
While the brain implant has only been tested on monkeys and rats so far, Musk claims that it could ‘solve brain disorders of all kinds’ in humans.
The chip measures just 4x4mm, and is connected to the brain via thousands of tiny threads that enter through four holes, which must be drilled into the skull.
Electrodes on the threads would be used to detect electrical impulses in the brain, and even influence your behaviour, according to Neuralink.
Initially, Neuralink hopes to offer the technology to paralysed patients to help them control their computers and smartphones.
Next, the technology could be used to treat patients with brain disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease.
Finally, later versions could allow healthy people to boost their intelligence to ‘superhuman’ levels, according to Neuralink.
Speaking at the launch event in San Francisco this week, Musk said: “This is not a mandatory thing. This is something you can choose to have if you want."
While you might think that getting implanting the chip into the brain would require invasive surgery, Neuralink hopes that this won’t be the case.
In fact, Neuralink claims that the brain chip could be implanted in a few hours without a visit to a hospital, in a process that it compares to Lasik eye surgery.
The company is hoping it will have equipped its first human patient with the technology before the end of 2020.
