Elon Musk’s brain chip company, Neuralink, has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct human trials. The company hopes to use its microchips to restore vision and motor skills by connecting people’s brains to computers. However, Neuralink has stated that it has no plans to start recruiting participants anytime soon. This is not the first time the company has attempted to gain FDA approval; a previous bid was rejected due to safety concerns.
Neuralink’s microchips are designed to interpret signals generated by the brain and transmit information to control devices via Bluetooth. The company hopes to use this technology to treat conditions such as paralysis and blindness, as well as to make computers and mobile technology more accessible to people with disabilities. The company’s website promises to prioritize “security, accessibility, and reliability” in the engineering process.
Experts warn that widespread adoption of Neuralink’s brain implants will require extensive testing to overcome technical and ethical challenges. The company, which was founded by Musk in 2016, had originally aimed to start implanting chips into human brains in 2020, but this was later postponed to 2022.
Neuralink’s approval from the FDA is the result of close collaboration between the company and the regulator. The company has promised to provide more information soon about its plans to enroll trial participants. Despite this progress, it remains to be seen whether Neuralink’s technology will be widely adopted, given the many challenges that still need to be overcome.