What would happen if, one day, technology allowed us to read other people's minds? Maybe we would no longer need to worry if our partner suddenly becomes indifferent, we would no longer need to be afraid of impromptu quizzes from a lecturer, or maybe even war could be prevented because world leaders understand each other.
Very sophisticated, right?
Not only that, but this technology is also so advanced that it allows us to move objects without touching them! Wow, it's like something out of a movie, right?
The good news is that it's not just in films—soon, we will see the presence of this technology in the real world after it was reported that it was successfully tested on humans for the first time.
What Do We Know So Far?
Ladies, have you ever heard of Neuralink? Neuralink is a nanotechnology company founded by Elon Musk and several scientists in 2016. However, Neuralink is not just any company. In an interview, Musk said the company was founded to overcome "humanity's existential crisis against super-intelligent AI."
Musk continued that one strategy to overcome this existential crisis is to combine human strengths with AI itself, not by avoiding it. Since then, Neuralink has never been free from controversial rumors.
For example, news about Neuralink wanting to implant chips in human brains has been a rumor since 2017. Two years later, in July 2019, this rumor was confirmed after Musk and Neuralink presented their “revolutionary” technology to the public.
This technology takes the form of a chip implanted into the human brain. This initial version of the chip, coded N1, has data transmission capabilities of around 200 MB/second, a diameter of 23 millimeters, consists of 1,000 electrodes, and is powered by a small battery that can be recharged wirelessly.
How does it work? At first glance, this chip's operation is quite simple: once implanted, it records and translates neuron signals and sends them to a computer for further analysis.
Well, it's not surprising that Musk calls it "telepathy," a cutting-edge technology that can record and translate human thoughts.
However, because this implantation must be precise, the process is not carried out using human hands but rather a surgical robot made to special specifications.
Musk said this chip has the potential to cure cerebral palsy, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, autism, schizophrenia, dementia, and other conditions. Not only that but if the implantation of this chip is successful and mass production begins, human communication patterns have the potential to change drastically in the future.
Musk's ambitions are slowly starting to come true. In early 2024, he made a surprise announcement stating that the implantation of a chip into the human brain had been successfully carried out for the first time. The first person to volunteer for the chip implantation reportedly could move a mouse with his thoughts.
Pros and Cons
Long before presenting its findings, the US Department of Agriculture investigated Neuralink for alleged cruelty to animals. The US Department of Transportation also launched an investigation into Neuralink's alleged negligence in removing chips from animal brains, leaving them vulnerable to infection with deadly pathogens.
Reuters estimates that around 1,500 animals have been killed as “guinea pigs” between 2018-2022, corroborating allegations of medical ethics violations by the California-based company.
However, Neuralink denied these accusations and stated that their experiments on implanting chips into the brains of animals, such as monkeys, were by the standards and procedures in force in the US.
Musk said in the presentation, “A monkey can control a computer through its brain,” strengthening his denial of the accusations against Neuralink.
Ethical issues have always remained in the development of AI, including the implementation of this chip. The main problem is that, until now, we still need to agree on the extent to which AI can control and intervene in life and the human body.
It would be exciting if humans could communicate like telepathy. But we may have to wait a little longer until there are regulations that strictly regulate this matter so that it is not easily misused by irresponsible parties.
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