© Shutterstock

News from Neuralink -

At the end of January 2024, billionaire Elon Musk announced that the first human had successfully received a brain implant from his company, Neuralink.

© Getty Images

Musk's X announcement -

He made the announcement via X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, adding that the patient was "recovering well."

© Getty Images

One of many -

Neuralink is one of several groups looking at how the human nervous system can be linked to a computer and what medical implications this could have.

© Getty Images

Multiple trials -

According to clinicaltrials.gov, there are currently more than 40 so-called "brain computer interface" trials underway.

© Shutterstock

The Neuralink trial -

According to the Associated Press, the device being used in the Neuralink trial is around the size of a large coin.

© Shutterstock

How the chip works -

It is designed to be implanted directly into the skull, and it has a number of ultra-thin wires that go directly into the brain.

© Shutterstock

How the chip works -

According to an announcement Neuralink made in September 2023, the wires are to be placed in the part of the brain that controls movement intention.

© Shutterstock

The main aim -

Apparently, the first goal of this so-called ‘brain chip’ is to allow people to control their electronic devices using only their thoughts.

© Shutterstock

Telepathy -

In a separate post on X at the end of January, Musk announced that the first Neuralink product would be called Telepathy.

© Shutterstock

Target market -

He also stated that the first people to benefit from the product would be those people who had, for whatever reason, lost the use of their limbs.

© Shutterstock

What Americans think -

In the fall of 2021, the Pew Research Center conducted a survey to find out what Americans thought about the prospect of a brain chip implant.

© Shutterstock

The survey -

The survey participants were asked what they thought about the prospect of a brain chip that would allow people to "far more quickly and accurately process information."

© Shutterstock

The results -

In general, Americans expressed negative views on the topic, with 56% saying they thought the widespread use of chips to improve cognitive function would be bad for society.

© Shutterstock

Overall opinion -

Of the remaining 44%, only 13% said it would be a good idea, while 31% said they simply were not sure.

© Shutterstock

Nuance -

Interestingly, however, opinion did vary depending on how the chip would be used. Overall, Americans were more open to the chip being used for medical purposes.

© Shutterstock

Medical purposes -

For instance, 77% of study participants said they would support the use of chips to help increase movement in paralyzed people.

© Shutterstock

Age-related mental decline -

Additionally, 67% also said they would favor using brain chips to help treat age-related mental decline. There was less support for brain chips being used where there was no obvious medical purpose.

© Shutterstock

Non-medical purposes -

For instance, only 32% of participants favored them being used to directly translate thoughts into text, and only 25% favored using them to browse the internet by thinking alone.

© Shutterstock

Concern about testing -

The 2021 study also revealed a high level of concern among the American public about how brain chips would be tested and vetted.

© Shutterstock

Testing standards -

Indeed, 83% of people asked said they would want brain chips to be tested to a higher standard of safety and effectiveness than other medical devices.

© Shutterstock

The reality -

Additionally, 78% also said they felt brain chips were likely to be used before we properly understood the implications they may have for our health.

© Shutterstock

Other issues -

Now that the Neuralink trial has begun, there is also frustration among scientists about the lack of detailed information being made available to the public.

© Getty Images

Lack of available information -

Indeed, apart from Musk’s post, there has been no official confirmation that the trial has even begun, and the main source of public information is a study brochure asking people to participate in the trial.

© Getty Images

The study brochure -

According to neuroengineer Tim Denison from the University of Oxford, this brochure lacks key information about the trial, particularly about the exact outcomes it will assess.

© Getty Images

Trial is not registered -

The trial is also not registered at clinicaltrials.gov, an online database of medical trials that is curated by the National Institutes of Health.

© Shutterstock

University requirement -

It is a requirement of many universities that researchers register a trial and its protocol in a repository like this before enrolling participants.

© Shutterstock

Medical journal requirement -

Similarly, many medical journals require a trial to be registered with such a repository before any results can be published.

© Shutterstock

Ethical reasons -

The idea with this is in line with ethical principles designed to protect those individuals who sign up to participate in medical trials.

© Shutterstock

Contacted for comment -

When contacted by Nature magazine about why they had not registered the trial, Neuralink failed to respond.

© Shutterstock

Looking ahead -

Brain-computer interfaces appear to be an exciting, albeit controversial area of scientific research. For now, we await the results of the Neuralink trial.

Sources: (Associated Press) (Pew Research) (Nature)

See also: Signs your brain is aging faster than you are

© Getty Images