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Global Science
Author:ben guarino
Schematic diagram of a brain-computer chip (**neuralink) The richest people on the planet have taken the next step towards commercial brain-computer interfaces.
Billionaire and technologist Elon Musk recently announced that his companyNeuralink implants a brain-computer interface into the human body for the first time。Musk wrote on his social media platform X that the subjects were "recovering well", addingPreliminary results show that "the detection of the electrical activity of brain cells is promising".
And just yesterday, Musk revealed more news about the subject's current situation at a spaces live event on X: "(The subject) is in good condition, seems to have **, and no adverse effects have been found,."And to be able to move and control the mouse on the screen using only the mind
In addition, Musk also said that they are currently trying to get participants to complete more complex mouse movement tasksOverall progress so far is "looking very good".
Each NeuraLink wireless device consists of a chip and an electrode array consisting of more than 1,000 ultra-thin, flexible electrodes, which is connected to the cerebral cortex of the subject by the surgical robot. These electrodes will be used to record neural activity related to movement. In Musk's vision, these signals would be translated by an app into cursor movement or generate text — in shortIt allows the participant to control the computer with their minds。"Imagine Stephen Hawking typing faster than a professional typist — that's what we're trying to achieve," Musk wrote of Neuralink's first product, Telepathy.
The logo of the company neuralink (**neuralink).
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a human clinical trial of Neuralink in May 2023。In September of the same year, the company announced that it would recruit patients with quadriplegia to participate in the first study.
Musk and Neuralink's statement about the first human trial did not surprise neuroscientists. Musk "said a long time ago that he was going to do it", said John Donoghue, a brain-computer interface expert at Brown University in the United StatesMusk has already done a lot of preliminary work based on the research of many scientists, including the work that our team has been doing since the beginning of the 21st century
But almost all the information about this clinical trial at the moment comes from a few words from Musk's speech on social **This highly opaque way of disseminating information has also made many scientists unhappy。Researchers at The Hastings Center, an American bioethics research organization, warned that Musk's sent"The practice of disseminating scientific information through the press, while increasingly common, is not scientific"。They suggested,Don't rely on people who have a huge financial stake in the research results as the only information**
Ryan Merkley, director of research and publicity at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, commentedMusk always likes to come up with big plans, but he provides very few details。Meckley said that the announcement of the successful implantation of a brain-computer chip into the human body "is a typical example" and that Musk did not provide enough information about the subjects who received the implants or their medical conditions, and that the success of the trial "needs to be determined based on the health status of the participants." ”
Musk had outlined their ambitions when he founded Neuralink in 2016These include combining the human brain with artificial intelligence。What does Neuralink's latest progress mean, and is it possible for the company to achieve the ultimate goal set by Musk? To that end, Scientific American interviewed Donohue.
John Donoghue, a brain-computer interface expert at Brown University, World Economic Forum - CC BY 30）
The following is an edited transcript of the interview].
Scientific American: Describing the initial results, Musk said that "the detection of electrical activity in brain cells is promising." What could this mean?
Donohue:To be clear up front, as a scientist, I can't comment on anything until I get the **. But this usually means:There is an action potential (electrical impulse produced by nerve cells) and electrodes implanted in the participant's brain capture this signal.
But I have to be open about what that means before I see the data. But that's how business entities like Neuralink provide information piecemeal。Of course, they may also announce tomorrow that the electrode is no longer working.
Scientific American:Information about the trial is being published in a "toothpaste" style on social media platforms, are you concerned about the way the study is being communicated to scientists or the public?
Donohue:Personally, I don't really like this ("squeezing toothpaste"-style information posting) approach, but I don't want to exaggerate ......It is not illegal to announce the successful implantation of a brain-computer chip on the first human subject, and they may not want to reveal too much.
Scientific American: From your perspective, what else can Musk and Neuralink bring to the table, based on the research that you and other scientists have done?
Donohue:What they need as a business entity is a product。What Musk has done is invest, all the knowledge that has been created in this field, and all the fundamental scientists who have figured out how the motor cortex of the brain works. He can use this knowledge and invest money to create a product that may have commercial value.
Elon Musk (Wikimedia).
Scientific American: Traditional implants can capture signals from individual neurons, but cables may be needed to transmit large amounts of data. So what is new about Neuralink's method of allowing chips to communicate wirelessly with devices compared to proof-of-principle studies in traditional labs?
Donohue:This is an important step in transferring data. For the huge amount of data, the solution proposed by neuralink is more practical than I imaginedInstead of pursuing a full-bandwidth, high-speed way of obtaining information, they use Bluetooth。The amount of information that can be obtained in this way is small, and due to bandwidth limitations, the amount of information taken out of the brain in this way cannot separate the activity of every neuron. But it worksThis method is enough to achieve the goal of controlling the computer with neural activity
Scientific American: After announcing the implantation of the brain-computer chip for the first human subject, how far are we from Musk's ambitious goal? He has spoken of restoring sight to the blind and restoring mobility to the disabled, and has even talked about the integration of man and artificial intelligence.
Donohue:Let the blind see, let the paralyzed move, let the deaf hear again"It's an old saying that's been around for 25 years. And all of our efforts towards this end goal bring us one step closer to helping paralyzed patients reconnect and move in a practical way.
The question at the moment isRecovering sensory input, such as vision, involves electrical stimulation in the brain and is quite different from just recording single-cell neural activity。As far as I know, there is no evidence that current neural implant devices can create sensory systems in any way.
They can implant electrodes in their brains and may already be able to stimulate nerves through them. But will they be able to restore the brain's sensory system through these stimuli? It's going to be a very complicated process
Scientific American: Are there limits to what brain-computer interfaces can provide? Is there any hope of realizing the dream that Musk wants to achieve, "to make the blind visible, to make the paralyzed move, and to let the deaf hear again"?
Donohue:The essence of science is:You never know what's going to happen around the corner
Just like the story in the movie "Oppenheimer", there are two possible outcomes of the first detonation of the atomic bomb: one is to produce a huge **, and the other is that the earth will be destroyed. They didn't know the answer about the atomic bomb then, and we don't know the answer about the brain-computer interface now! A lot of things happen that are unpredictable
The engineering question is: Can we make a way to deliver low-power information that is smaller and has more bandwidth? Although I am not an expert in this area, I think the answer is yes, because our electronics are getting better and better. There are a few other technical difficulties that are currently difficult to solveBut until the results of the pivotal trial are in, I don't know what the final answer will be.
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