Elon Musk’s Neuralink unveils prototype of brain implants — and looks toward clinical trials
Elon Musk on Friday unveiled a coin-sized prototype of a brain implant developed by his startup Neuralink to enable people who are paralyzed to operate smartphones and robotic limbs with their thoughts — and said the company had worked to “dramatically simplify” the device since presenting an earlier version last summer.
In an event live-streamed on YouTube to more than 150,000 viewers, the company staged a demonstration in which it trotted out a pig named Gertrude that was said to have had the company’s device implanted in its head two months ago; the live stream showed what Musk claimed to be Gertrude’s real-time brain activity as it sniffed around a pen. At no point, though, did he provide evidence that the signals — rendered in beeps and bright blue wave patterns on screen — were, in fact, emanating from the pig’s brain.
