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What if I tell you that with the help of technology – in addition to using it in the medical field – we can use it to acquire a superintelligence that helps us deal with situations that the future will bring us, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the control of machines directly with the use of the brain?
This may be possible thanks to the continuous research and contributions that the Neuralink company is making to improve certain aspects of everyday life thanks to new technologies.
Elon Musk, the founder of Neuralink, cited a few days ago that it would be possible to add a third layer of digital superintelligence in human brains and avoid some invasive methods of artificial intelligence that exist so far or are prototypes for future projects.
Musk added that “it is better to be prepared, better sooner than later, to avoid problems and consequences that the use or development of increasingly advanced super-machines can bring”.
What is Neuralink?
The brain-computer linkup firm is largely dedicated to the research and lookup for solutions to solve medical conditions using human chip implants, although Musk intends to go a little further.
He clarifies that the idea is “to be one step ahead of the probable consequences that the advance of super-machines can cause. While this is not good or bad, it is better to be prepared for certain events that we are heading for, in the hypothetical in case this happens”.
Musk, on many other occasions, has warned that humanity must take premature measures to prevent Artificial Intelligence (I.A.) from exceeding the control limits of the human being, something that could be catastrophic for the species. At the same time, the entrepreneur said there is a need to create a government regulation.
Wiring the brains
There are currently some non-invasive methods in the area of medical-technological research such as certain types of caps for which surgery is not required. On the contrary, Musk and a team of scientists explained last July at the California Academy of Sciences’ Morrison Planetarium, how Neuralink plans to use invasive methods that are coupled to the brain through surgical interventions.
The idea is to implant a hermetically sealed chip called N1 with a size of four by four millimeters. In turn, this chip is placed in a cylindrical container that measures about eight millimeters in diameter.
Chip N1 Features
- It has 1024 electrodes (100 times more than those used to treat Parkinson’s).
- Each electrode is five microns thick (three less than a blood cell).
- It can read electrical peaks when placed at about sixty microns of a neuron.
This type of implant is intended for people with quadriplegia due to spinal cord injury C1-C4, although Musk has repeatedly spoken that it can be used to connect humans with machines.
The setup
It is initially intended to use four N1 chips, one in the somatic sensory cortex and three in the motor areas. It is then connected to an inductive cable that in turn is connected to Bluetooth and a battery that gives power to the system.
The result of these connections is a system that can be used to control computer systems or even a smartphone.
Musk Explanation
Humans have two systems, he explained, and, for these purposes, nobody wants to remove any of these layers, instead, he believes that a third layer can be added above the two existing ones with a similar relationship.
- Limbic system: responsible for driving impulses.
- Cortex system: acts as an intelligence layer trying to control the limbic system.
This could allow humans to coexist with machines more efficiently. Likewise, Musk said in a talk during the August Discussion that this type of communication would sound in a tone similar to that of the whales. Linkin up the brain could allow a faster method of connection.
It is clear that the future is just around the corner and that it can improve or condition our lifestyle if we are not careful what we get into.
The changes can be as subtle and little by little, as radicals with a great impact. It can change the way we see or perceive the world, from the way we work to how we do sports, from how to educate our children or how to move from one place to another.
And for all that, we must be prepared, because the world is changing faster than a horse competing in the Kentucky Derby. Future is now.