what if you could turn your computer on with a thought what if you needed only to think about
your friend to call them this is a world where the line between man and machine
is blurred no we're not talking about mutants or superheroes like cyborg rather this is the vision
of neuralink a company co-founded by elon musk to pioneer implantable brain machine interfaces or in
english a microchip in your brain that can control the technology around you and even cure diseases
already it's increasingly difficult to tell where our phones end and we begin it's not
just teenagers most of us are surgically fused to technology living our lives in cyberspace
neurolink is the next step in this journey when man and machine become one at least that's the
idea anyway in this video i'll be finding out if neuralink's bold claims hold true
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every time we upload a new video founded in 2017 neurolink remained quiet for the first few years
it wasn't until 2019 that this mysterious company announced a breakthrough in a viral video
a monkey named pager played the game pong using only his brain the neurolink device
detected the brain activity decoding it and translating it into movements on the computer
monkey and machine were speaking to each other
they were one the underlying mechanism is the n1 a four millimeter chip implanted in the skull
this ship then interfaces with the brain using wires thinner than a single human hair
these threads detect messages as they relate between neurons recording the impulse and sending
it for translation according to neuralink the n1 can currently connect with 1000
brain cells they suggested implanting as many as 10 n1 chips as part of full integration
the breakthrough was game-changing to thread the wires directly into position
neuralink developed a robot capable of rapidly inserting the probes without causing tissue
damage it can reportedly insert up to six wires per minute moreover the recording system needed
to not only convert thoughts into binary code it needed to understand the noise in the first place
even now the electrons are too big to record individual neurons firing so there's a long way
to go neurolink and musk himself have faced substantial criticism and backlash however
in 2020 must compared one neurolink device to a fitbit in your skull with tiny wires
going further musk argued the implants might soon solve paralysis blindness and hearing
needless to say neurolink has ruffled more than a few feathers who's correct are the naysayers
right to be skeptical or is neurolink on the bleeding edge of neurotechnological development
in short can robots read our minds and if so where does the technology lead the answer is already yes
bci or brain computer interfaces are nothing new german psychiatrists pioneered eeg machines in the
20s to record human brain activity by the late 70s such machines could be used to move an object on a
computer screen we've even been able to decipher images seen by cats from their neuron activity
where neuralink differs is by cutting out the middle man it doesn't interface through your skull
it does so in your skull by linking up directly with the brain the level of precision increases
substantially in one test musk's team was able to see the prediction of movement before it occurred
compared to the next best commercial device on the market neurolink has over 100 times
more data channels there's simply nothing else in competition after receiving an fda breakthrough
device designation in july 2020 musk hopes to begin limited human testing shortly but
it's important to remember its early days still if musk is to be believed the future will be wild in
one statement he predicted and this is obviously sounding increasingly like a black mirror episode
um but uh well i guess they're pretty good predicting um but yeah essentially if you
have a whole brain interface everything that's encoded in memory you could uh you could upload
you could basically store your memories um as a backup and restore the memories
and ultimately you could potentially download them into a new body or into a robot body
the future is going to be weird yes that's digital immortality musk is proposing
ignoring the extensive philosophical arguments about whether such a robot would truly be you
musk is right about one thing if neuralink takes off the future is unimaginable forget the internet
or even the metaverse humans won't be surfing on the web they'll be in it think ready player one
but it all begins with curing diseases conditions like parkinson's disease and alzheimer's occur
because the brain can no longer communicate fluently with all regions certain pathways are
irreparably damaged in paralysis a person's spinal cord can be severed neurolink could
detect the signals and pass them on forming a bridge that ignores the damaged region
a sort of neural bypass from there it's only a short leap to sending artificial bodily signals
back to the brain the sensation of touch or smell would be as real as the real world
sights and sounds undifferentiable from their living breathing counterparts but while it's easy
to get lost in a techno utopia of endless fun and games the reality is likely to be darker like the
internet and all other technologies before it the level of control neurolink provides
over a populace makes the dystopias of 1984 or even star wars galactic empire seem amateurish by
comparison prison could be served in a neurolink cyber facility soldiers could fight in robot skins
using neurolink to control the machinery how does the concept of privacy survive mind-reading robots
and will this increase social isolation or finally give us a chance to break down physical boundaries
and connect with each other mind to mind we're going to find out such concepts are now in the
realm of science fiction and in truth neurolink is likely further from this revolution than it claims
as the clinical trials commence the ambitious technology firm needs ample proof of its claims
otherwise it won't be humanity's next evolutionary leap it'll be another failed silicon valley
startup that promises big and delivers little but what do you think is neurolink humanity's
future the dawn of a new civilization paradigm is this the road to a dystopian and authoritarian
government ripped from the pages of sci-fi or do you doubt neurolink's claims entirely
let us know in the comments below if you enjoyed this video make sure to check out our video on the
world's most impressive future technologies thanks for watching we'll see you next time
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