Elon Musk said this week that he would be comfortable implanting a chip developed by his company Neuralink into one of his children’s brains if the need arises.
Tech billionaire Neuralink was responding to a question about potential safety concerns when the devices are actively implanted in the brain and when the chip is removed.
“If you’re asking that question, I think I could implant it in one of my kids or something like that, if they were serious … like if they broke their neck, I is it convenient to do this? I would be,” Musk said during a Q&A at the Neuralink event.
“We’ve come to a point where, at least in my opinion, it’s not dangerous,” Musk added.
Musk has been touting the potential of Neuralink chips for years to improve cognitive performance.
At an event Wednesday night at Neuralink’s headquarters, Musk and other company officials touted the device’s potential benefits in helping people with disabilities, such as vision or motor loss, or people with spinal cord injuries or paralysis. they emphasized.
“Even if someone is born blind, we believe we can restore sight,” Musk said.
The billionaire also said that he plans to implant a Neuralink chip in his brain in the future. Musk said Neuralink could begin human trials for the devices within six months, pending Food and Drug Administration approval.
“We want to be very careful and make sure the device works well before we put it on a person,” Musk said.
So far, Neuralink has beaten Musk’s ambitious timelines for human use. He initially indicated that the firm would receive FDA approval by the end of 2020. Last year, Musk said he hoped to begin human trials at some point in 2022 — a plan that is no longer feasible.
Neuralink has also come under fire from animal rights activists for using monkeys in clinical trials. Critics claimed in February that Neuralink had caused “excessive suffering” in its test facilities. The company has denied wrongdoing.
Musk visited Neuralink and worked on his other responsibilities, including CEO of Tesla and Twitter.
Earlier this year, Musk caused a stir after announcing that he had fathered twins with Neuralink CEO Shivon Zilis. The The billionaire has 10 children.
With post wires
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