Elon Musk is always one step ahead of our perceptions, He goes above and beyond to impress our psyche, every time with a new innovation. His futuristic ventures have touched a new high yet again when he announced that his brain chip company Neuralink will cure depression.
The first thought that most of us had on receiving this news is, of course, incredulity. But Elon Musk is known both to share unbelievable ideas as well as deliver ambitious projects successfully.
The announcement posted on Twitter by Musk himself is being viewed with apprehension and excitement. In fact, Elon Musk himself says that the idea is scary but is determined for his company to reach its desired intent.
Elon Musk recently stunned the world with his impressive SpaceX launch, one of his many achievements. Similarly, Neuralink which was founded in 2016 had earlier made headlines with its efforts towards developing interfaces that make it possible to stream music from inside one’s brain.
Elon Musk affirmed a computer engineer’s speculation on Twitter about how Neuralink will cure depression by ‘re-training’ parts of the brain that give rise to these conditions.
He replied with the statement,
‘For sure. This is both great & terrifying’ Everything weâve ever sensed or thought has been electrical signals.â
The astonishing fact is that Elon Musk is heavily hinting at a commercial release of the Neuralink implantable chips. This can be a breakthrough in the treatment of psychological illnesses that have no definitive cure.
So, the question is, how can Neuralink be effective in curing conditions like addiction and depression, among others? If perfected, the implanted Neuralink brain chip will directly converse with the brain without interacting with one’s senses. This direct contact can be used to retrain the synapses and reverse behaviors that give rise to the mind’s afflictions.
Talking about the fact that Elon Musk deemed this revolutionary technology scary, it seems like Neuralink is his attempt to counter the looming dangers of Artificial Intelligence, as he made clear several times.
According to Elon Musk, Neuralink will act as a bridge between AI and humanity, giving the former the much-needed human element without which its progression he claims is equivalent to ‘summoning the demon.’ There is hope that Neuralink will cure depression, and brain diseases such as Parkinson’s and may even be used to interact with other humans merely through thoughts.
Going back to his intriguing tweet,
Elon Musk reflected on how ‘Everything we’ve ever sensed or thought has been electrical signals. The early universe was just a soup of quarks & leptons. How did a very small piece of the Universe start to think of itself as sentient?’
This only goes to show the genius of Elon Musk and the impending reality of the brain to computer communication. Much has been said about Neuralink, but the details have remained shrouded in mystery until Musk’s latest tweets. It looks like the secrets are slowly unraveling.
Musk had earlier revealed in a podcast with Joe Rogan, how Neuralink would achieve brain implantation. He spoke about it, stating,
‘We would basically take out a chunk of your skull and put the Neuralink device in there. You insert the electrode threads very carefully in the brain, and then you stitch it. It would interface anywhere in the brain, and it could restore your eyesight and limb functionalities’.
The company is undoubtedly seeking to achieve the impossible by attempting to merge Artificial Intelligence and humans. More information on Neuralink will cure depression is awaited over the next months.
