Neuralink, a neurotechnology firm founded by Elon Musk, has unveiled its plans for the development of brain-machine interfaces (BMI), which can control computer hardware via brain signals and enable human enhancement. The first announcement in research was outlined during the presentation in July 2019. It was mentioned once again by Elon Musk at the Joe Rogan Experience podcast in May 2020. Musk claimed that the implantation of the BMI in the human brain could be done in “less than a year”.
The initial goal of Neuralink is to help people with brain and spinal cord injuries or congenital disabilities. Essentially, they aim to bridge the gap between the human brain and artificial intelligence: almost resembling a symbiotic relationship. Humankind with implanted interfaces will be able to operate hardware devices with their brain and control or enhance their body using Bluetooth input systems. Data inputs can be done via mobile or computer apps, just like creating headphone setups using the mobile Bluetooth function.
This is an overview of the fundamentals of the Neuralink brain-machine interface. The average human brain has about 86 billion neurons, which are each composed of a dendritic arbor, a cell body, and an axon. Neurons form a gigantic junction, called synapses for communication – to deliver information by transforming it into a chemical signal called neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are then released from the end of an axon and respond to an electrical spike called the ‘action potential.’ When the postsynaptic neuron receives enough of a neurotransmitter, a chain reaction is triggered, causing an action potential to fire and the neuron to relay messages down its downstream synapses. Action potentials produce an electric field that spreads from the neuron, and this can be detected by placing electrodes nearby. Researchers of Neuralink developed an algorithm that can detect the spikes of electric fields emitted by action potentials in real-time and rearranged them as a pattern. They discovered that certain patterns exist in the electric field, per different actions. Information can be detected by the electrodes in the brain, and could also input particular patterns to perform an action.
One thousand twenty-four electrode threads are attached to a small interface chip and will be implanted under the human scalp. The whole process will be done using an accurate robot, so that it can plant all threads in the right position, avoiding damaging the blood cells and neurons. The chip will be wirelessly connected to a wearable, detachable, and upgradable ‘pod,’ which will be placed behind an ear. This 'pod' functions as the power source of the chip and connect the human brain and hardware devices.
Neuralink is currently planning for testing its technology on humans this year. Yet, external concerns, such as electrode threads damaging the human brain, and challenges such as finding the adequate coating substance which enables the fibers to be kept inside the sensitive human brain for a long time exist, but controlling hardware devices only with our thoughts and enabling human enhancement is a remarkable prelude in the composition and development of biotechnology and artificial intelligence.
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