Brain implant company Neuralink, founded by Elon Musk in 2016, has received approval from the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) to begin its first human clinical trial. This paves the way for a brain-machine interface that could treat fatal neurological diseases, paralysis, blindness and more. The implant could also be used to control everyday devices with the mind.
See also: Neuralink: Investigation into animal deaths during testing
Musk has said many times that Neuralink is close to starting human trials, where a device in the human brain.
Neuralink filed for FDA approval in early 2022, but the agency rejected the request due to several concerns. According to Reuters, the concerns included the battery , the possibility of the implant's wires moving around inside the brain, and the difficulty of safely removing the device without damaging brain tissue.
In 2021, Neuralink released a video of a macaque monkey with one of the company’s brain implants playing Pong using only its thoughts. During the game, Neuralink recorded the activity of neurons. The data was used to determine which areas of the monkey’s brain were active during specific gestures. After the patterns were discovered, the joystick was disconnected. However, the monkey was still able to control the cursor as it thought about the movements.
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But the monkey experiments have led to accusations of animal cruelty by the non-profit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). The PCRM said that “the monkeys’ minds were mutilated as a result of the experiments and they were left to suffer and die.” Neuralink has killed about 1,500 animals since the experiments began in 2018.
US lawmakers are asking regulators to examine how Neuralink controls animal testing and assess whether the committee's recommendation overseeing those tests led to flawed and rushed experiments.
Additionally, PCRM accused Neuralink of violating federal laws regarding the transportation of hazardous materials on multiple occasions. The Department of Transportation is investigating whether the company transported dangerous microbes in chips removed from monkey brains.
There are other companies working on brain interfaces besides Neuralink. Synchron ,based in New York, has received FDA approval for human trials starting in 2021. A 62-year-old paralyzed Australian man with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis had two implants in July and December. He used one of those implants to send a tweet simply by thinking.
See also: Musk's Neuralink: One step closer to implanting our brains
There may be people with similar conditions who will participate in Neuralink's trials. Musk has been reported to be considering implanting a device into his body in the future, perhaps to be able to stream music directly to his brain, sources say.
