Elon Musk, a well-known American entrepreneur, said on the 29th that his brain-computer interface company "Neural Connection" carried out the first human transplant of a brain-computer interface device on the 28th, and the transplant recipient is currently recovering well.
According to Musk, the first brain-computer interface product of the "Neural Connection" company is called "telepathy", and after the brain is implanted in the device, it can control mobile phones, computers and almost all devices through them just by using their minds. People who have lost the function of their limbs will be the first users of this product. What kind of technology is brain-computer interface? What are the future application prospects? Xinhua News Agency reporter will solve the situation for you
On July 6, 2023, Musk participated in the opening ceremony of the 2023 World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai.
Transformative human-computer interaction technology
"Brain-computer interface" is a transformative human-computer interaction technology that works by collecting nerve signals from the brain and analyzing them into specific instructions. This technology is able to create a direct connection between the human or animal brain and external devices, and does not rely on the normal output pathway composed of peripheral nerves and muscles, enabling direct information exchange between the "brain" and the "machine".
At present, brain-computer grafting is divided into three categories: non-invasive, invasive, and semi-invasive according to whether it needs to invade the brain and the degree of invasiveness. The company's products are invasive.
The important functions of BCI devices include helping with memory loss, cervical spinal cord injury and other neurological diseases, helping patients with motor dysfunction and paralysis to regain the ability to communicate with the outside world and even walk again, improving and enhancing their quality of life.
With the development of brain-computer articulation, its potential application scenarios in the medical and non-medical fields are also expanding, including monitoring and evaluating brain status, regulating nerves, enhancing sensory abilities, improving game control, education, military and other fields.
According to Musk, the first users of this product will be people who have lost the function of their limbs. "Imagine that Stephen Hawking might be able to communicate faster than a typist or auctioneer [if a brain-computer interface device is implanted]. That's what we're aiming for. ”
What are the future application prospects?
Musk's "Neural Connection" company was founded in 2016 and focuses on the research and development of implantable brain-computer interface devices. In August 2020, Musk once showed a live broadcast of a piglet whose brain is implanted with a brain-computer interface device, and its brain activity signals can be read in real time. The piglets that were removed after the brain implant device were healthy and did not differ from ordinary piglets.
Pictured here is Elon Musk attending an event in Australia on September 29, 2017.
The effective detection of neuron-related potentials in the brain plays an important role in neural signal processing. Musk said preliminary results show good prospects for implantable brain-computer interface devices to detect neuron-related potentials.
According to the United States** report, in addition to the "neural connection" company, there are currently a number of American companies are also developing brain-computer connection**. The potential of brain-computer interface devices is powerful, but the safety of their implantation into the human body has been the subject of controversy and concern. Implantation of electrodes by craniotomy is very risky, and foreign body invasion can also trigger an immune response and the formation of scar tissue, which may also affect the quality of the electrode signal.
Since 2019, Musk's "Neural Connection" company will soon be approved to start human clinical trials. But it wasn't until May 2023 that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave the green light to its human trials.
Experts believe that although brain-computer technology has made great progress and has a broad imagination space, there are still many obstacles to be overcome before the real large-scale commercialization, including not only practical technical bottlenecks, but also ethics, privacy, social justice and other issues.
*: Xinhua International Headlines).