"The goddess should be unharmed, when the world is shocked", this poem reflects not only the amazing changes in human society, but also the many earth-shaking changes brought about by the rapid development of high technology. If humans fail to respond in time, it will bring about many social problems. Musk, a well-known American entrepreneur, said on January 29 that his brain-computer interface company Neuralink has carried out the first human transplant of a brain-computer interface device, and the transplant patient is currently recovering well. Whether this is a boon for life or a Pandora's box is a matter of opinion.
The so-called "brain-computer interface" is to implant tiny electrodes in the brain and use an electric current to allow the computer to interact with brain cells. In 2019, Musk released his first product, which uses a laser to drill holes in the skull, and then bypasses the blood vessels in the brain and implants a line into the brain. In August 2020, in order to verify the effect of the brain-computer interface, researchers implanted devices in the bodies of three pigs, and Musk showed viewers the real-time transmission of the piglets' brain activity during the live broadcast.
Feb**Dynamic Incentive Program Neuralink, a brain science company founded by Musk in 2016 with a number of scientists. As the name suggests, the company's main research direction is brain-computer interfaces – the development of a device that can be implanted in the brain to achieve "human-machine interaction". Last year's funding round showed that Neuralink was valued at $5 billion. According to Musk, Neuralink is designing a device that converts brain signals into action and will first focus on two applications: one is to restore human vision, and the other is to help people who cannot move their muscles control devices such as smartphones and even restore the whole body function of people with spinal cord injuries.
The goal of Neuralink's human trial of precision robots implanted into brain-computer interfaces is to find participants aged 22 and older who are paralyzed by ALS (due to spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and have not improved for at least a year after the injury, with the initial goal of enabling paralyzed people to operate a computer cursor or keyboard with their minds alone. Judging from the operation process of Musk's brain-computer interface project, the operation will be operated by the robot "R1" and the implant "N1" will be implanted into the brain region. After the implantation is completed in about 15 minutes, the chip inside "N1" will be used to record brain signals and transmit them wirelessly to Neuralink's decoded motion intent application. After the app decodes the brain signal, it controls the external device via a Bluetooth connection. Patients use the neuralink app and Bluetooth connectivity to control an external mouse and keyboard to do what they want.
These scenes, which seem to be only seen in science fiction**, have now become reality. Neuralink announced on September 19, 2023, that it has received approval from an independent review committee to conduct first-in-human trials to implant devices in the brains of paralyzed patients. According to Neuralink, the human trial will last for 6 years, and participants will first participate in an 18-month study, after which they will spend at least 2 hours a week on brain-computer interfaces. It is worth mentioning that before the successful application for human clinical trials, Neuralink had already done relevant trials in pigs and monkeys, which caused a sensation.
Recently, AI has been frequently in trouble. Someone maliciously used the picture of Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee attending an event with an artificial intelligence-generated voice to induce netizens to make so-called investments. American actress Taylor Swift was used to generate ** photos with AI. Faced with tens of millions of views, the White House expressed "concern" and urged the US Congress to legislate to crack down on such behavior. If Musk's technology is also used maliciously, will humanity become safe in the future? Can humans and animals talk directly?
In any case, it is necessary for mankind to reach a consensus: no matter how advanced high-tech can not be completely separated from the constraints of laws and regulations, social ethics, industry norms and other constraints, the real value of artificial intelligence lies in the benefit of people and society, even if developers can not fully predict the hidden dangers, but at least do their best to minimize the potential risk value.
Technological breakthroughs are exciting, but the ethics of technology need to be taken seriously. To put the brakes on advanced technology and then go on the road, it is not enough to rely on enterprise self-discipline, and the regulatory authorities must "step on the brakes" in a timely manner, increase vigilance and strictly control. At present, at least 60 countries around the world have formulated and implemented AI governance policies, which shows that the rule order in the field of AI is in the formative period around the world, and the development of ethical governance tends to be at the same frequency. Development and security are never necessarily contradictory and antagonistic. On the one hand, it is necessary to drum up for the emergence of new technologies such as AI, and on the other hand, it is also necessary to remain sober, and the development of overdraft public safety and social order is doomed to be unsustainable.