According to Elon Musk, the initial recipient of Neuralink technology has the ability to control a computer mouse using their thoughts.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using neural implants?
Elon Musk, founder of Neuralink, has announced that the initial recipient of a brain chip implant from the company has successfully regained control and is able to manipulate a computer mouse through their thoughts.
Musk reported positive progress and stated that the patient has fully recovered without any known negative consequences. The patient is able to control the movement of a mouse on the screen through thought, as shared during a Spaces event on Musk’s social media platform, X, on Monday evening.
The company implanted
A microchip implanted in a human patient for the first time in January.
Last month, Musk made a post on social media.
The company has been given the green light by U.S. authorities to enroll participants for the study, as part of their goal to utilize their technology in assisting individuals with traumatic injuries to control computers solely with their thoughts.
The first patient’s identity has not been disclosed, but Neuralink previously announced that they were seeking individuals with quadriplegia caused by either cervical spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, for their trials.
According to Neuralink, the recent experiment consisted of inserting a brain-computer interface into a specific area of the brain responsible for transmitting a signal to initiate movement.
The Hastings Center, a research institute that is not affiliated with any political party, recently wrote a blog post criticizing Neuralink’s method of sharing information, calling it “science by press release.” The center stated that it believes the disclosure of an experiment involving someone who is vulnerable should involve formal reporting to the general public.
According to an article published by the center, Arthur Caplan, the head of the Department of Medical Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania, and Jonathan Moreno, a professor of ethics at the same university, stated that if the only source of information about a human experiment is the person funding it with a significant financial interest in the outcome, then basic ethical principles have not been upheld.
Although the FDA does not mandate reporting for initial feasibility studies of medical devices, Caplan and Moreno emphasized that the surgeons, neuroscientists, and nurses participating in the trial have an ethical obligation to ensure transparency.
They emphasized that a technical regulatory barrier does not exempt them from their ethical duty to be transparent and prevent the possibility of giving false hope to numerous individuals with severe neurological disabilities.
There was no immediate response from Neuralink to a request for comment.
“According to the Associated Press, this information was gathered through reporting.”
Kate Gibson
Source: cbsnews.com