By: Sarah Marsh | Neurotechnology, Elon Musk and the goal of human enhancement | Neuroscience | The Guardian
Brain-computer interfaces could change the way people think, soldiers fight and Alzheimer’s is treated. But are we in control of the ethical ramifications?
At the World Government Summit in Dubai in February, Tesla and SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk said that people would need to become cyborgs to be relevant in an artificial intelligence age. He said that a “merger of biological intelligence and machine intelligence” would be necessary to ensure we stay economically valuable.
Soon afterwards, the serial entrepreneur created Neuralink, with the intention of connecting computers directly to human brains. He wants to do this using “neural lace” technology – implanting tiny electrodes into the brain for direct computing capabilities.
He wants to directly tap into the brain, effectively bypassing mechanisms such as speaking or texting. Musk has the credibility to talk about these things
Related: Human Brain Project: Henry Markram plans to spend €1bn building a perfect model of the human brain
BCIs could be a fundamental tool for going beyond human limits, hence improving everyone’s life
