Bloomberg: Elon Musk's startup has embedded a chip in the brain of a monkey. Now she can play video games with her mind

Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX and Tesla, announced on the social network Clubhouse about the latest achievements of his startup Neuralink. His scientists implanted a wireless chip into the monkey’s brain, thanks to which the animal can play Pong with the power of thought.

According to Bloomberg, the announcement took place at one of the massive Clubhouse conference calls. Musk was asked if there was any news about Neuralink. The billionaire founded this company in 2007. She specializes in developing interfaces for controlling computers with the help of the brain.

“We have a monkey with a wireless implant and small wires in the skull that can play video games with the power of thought,” Musk replied. — “Where exactly the implant is installed is not visible. The monkey feels good. We have some of the best monkey labs in the world. We want them to play mind Pong with each other.”

The aim of the work, which resulted in an experiment with a monkey, is the treatment of brain and spinal cord injuries. It is assumed that the implantation of such chips will help partially compensate patients for certain lost abilities.

“There are already analogues, but these are primitive versions of a similar device with wires hanging out of your head,” Musk explained. – “They can be compared to a Fitbit bolted to the skull, the wires from which go to your brain.”

The billionaire promised that videos with playing monkeys will be published soon. Maybe even within a month.