Elon Musk's implantable brain-machine interfaces company Neuralink has supposedly allowed a monkey to play video games with its mind, per the Tesla CEO's claims.
Bloomberg reports that Musk had an interview on the Good Time Show on Clubhouse on Sunday, revealing the company had already made some promising progress. "We have a monkey with a wireless implant in their skull with tiny wires who can play video games with his mind," he said. "You can’t see where the implant is and he’s a happy monkey. We have the nicest monkey facilities in the world. We want them to play mind-Pong with each other. That would be pretty cool."
Last year, Neuralink showcased the technology successfully utilized on Gertrude the pig. Musk has compared the implant, which is the size of a coin, to "a Fitbit in your skull, with tiny wires." He joked at the time that he could have one of these implants in his head and no one would know. One goal of the tech is to combat common brain ailments including memory loss, blindness, paralysis, depression, hearing loss, anxiety, and brain damage among others.
Musk unveiled Neuralink in 2017, and the company has continued to make strides since. The general idea is to help people more easily interact with computer interfaces, including cellphones. It's unclear when the technology will undergo human testing, or when it could be released to the public or medical professionals.
Hear the full interview with Elon Musk above.
