Let's hope Pelosi & AOC and the swarm of dummies in congress get first dibs and go for it! They can use all the help they can get.
The
Tesla and SpaceX founder announced a goal of implanting chips into
human brains as early as next year to create direct human connections to
computers.
By Alex Johnson
Elon
Musk, the futurist billionaire behind SpaceX and Tesla, outlined his
plans to connect humans' brains directly to computers on Tuesday night,
describing a campaign to create "symbiosis with artificial
intelligence." He said the first prototype could be implanted in a
person by the end of next year.
Arriving at
that goal "will take a long time," Musk said in a presentation at the
California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, noting that securing
federal approval for implanted neural devices is difficult. But testing
on animals is already underway, and "a monkey has been able to control
the computer with his brain," he said.
Musk founded Neuralink Corp. in July 2016 to create "ultra-high bandwidth brain-machine interfaces
to connect humans and computers." The company said in 2017 that its
initial goal was to devise brain interfaces to alleviate the symptoms of
chronic medical conditions.
It's widely
presumed, however, that Musk is characteristically after something much
larger. He has frequently warned that the rapid advance of artificial
intelligence, or AI, threatens to leave humanity in the dust, calling it
an existential risk.
Elon musk speaks at a Neuralink Livestream event Tuesday night at the the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.Neuralink via YouTube
Musk
repeated Tuesday night that one of the goals of Neuralink was to treat
brain disorders, saying, "We can solve that with a chip."
But
he went on to say that it also sought to help you "preserve and enhance
your own brain" and to "create a well-aligned future."
As
he has before, Musk warned that as it stands, humanity is at risk of
being left behind by the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence,
or AI — "even in a benign AI scenario — hopefully, it is a benign
scenario."
Addressing that, Musk said
Tuesday, will require finding a way for the brain to "merge" with AI,
most likely through tiny wireless chips implanted in the brain through a
2-millimeter incision to create what he called "some sort of symbiosis
with artificial intelligence," with a goal of no less than securing
"humanity's future as a civilization relative to AI."
While
Neuralink "aspirationally" hopes to implant the first chip in a human
patient before the end of 2020, Musk acknowledged that the larger goal
will take a long time. Still, the ultimate hope is for "some sort of
symbiosis with artificial intelligence," which he said would take root
"at the civilizational scale."
"With a high-bandwidth brain interface, I think we can have the option of merging with AI," he said.
Asked
how Neuralink could make such an advance system affordable and widely
available, Musk said the infrastructure would be so simple that it
wouldn't need expensive neuroscientists to implant and maintain.
"I think it's safe to say you could repay the loan with superhuman intelligence," he said. "I think it's a safe bet."
In
November, Musk touted "an AI extension of yourself" in an interview
with comedian and podcast host Joe Rogan, saying: "If you can't beat it,
join it.
"From
a long-term existential standpoint, that's, like, the purpose of
Neuralink, to create a high-bandwidth interface to the brain such that
we can be symbiotic with AI," he said. "Because we have a bandwidth
problem. You just can't communicate through your fingers. It's just too
slow."
Such an interface, he claimed, would
allow "anyone who wants to have superhuman cognition — anyone who
wants." At some point, he said, people would be able to "upload into a
new unit, literally," when they die.
Those high-flying promises have convinced some heavy hitters.
Neuralink's
most recent Form D securities notice to filing with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, or SEC, filed in May, disclosed that the company
had raised more than $39 million from seven investors — more than
three-quarters of its goal.
Musk,
48, whom Forbes lists as the 40th-richest person in the world, founded
or co-founded PayPal Inc., the electric car company Tesla Inc., SpaceX
(which wants to start commercial space flights by 2021) and The Boring
Co. (which seeks to build an underground "hyperloop" allowing commuters
to travel between New York and Washington, D.C., in a half-hour).
He
also co-founded OpenAI LP, initially a nonprofit venture seeking to
"ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity."
Earlier this year, OpenAI shifted
from a being a nonprofit to being a so-called capped-profit company,
which would allow it to make profits "while including checks and
balances to actualize our mission."
Tesla
and SpaceX are widely seen as successes that have fundamentally advanced
technology in green transportation and space exploration.
But
other of Musk's efforts have stumbled: Last August, in an attempt to
reduce pressure from investors and critics, Musk tweeted that he was
taking Tesla private at $420 per share without first consulting his
board or notifying shareholders.
The
announcement ran afoul of SEC regulations after it turned out that Musk
hadn't struck an agreement with private investors to finance the move.
The SEC ordered him and Tesla to pay $20 million each in penalties, and
Musk had to step down as chairman for three years.
In September, the significance of Musk's $420-a-share price became clear when Musk smoked marijuana on the air during his appearance on Rogan's podcast. Tesla's stock plunged by 9 percent as investors questioned his stability.
Then, in November, The Boring Company announced that it was withdrawing plans to develop a "test tunnel" of its hyperloop system in Los Angeles.
State and local officials said Musk's plans hadn't been submitted for review or permits — formally or even informally.
This guy is nuttin but a big phoney fraud. Stick a module up your rectum & then U can program your bowel movements from your smartphone!
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