Elon Musk’s groundbreaking brain-computer interface company, Neuralink, has reportedly received approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct its first-ever in-human clinical study. This significant development suggests that real individuals may soon have the opportunity to receive a Neuralink implant in their brains.
The announcement comes after Musk’s previous statement in November, where he predicted that Neuralink was approximately six months away from conducting its initial human trial. Remarkably, it seems that this timeline is aligning with Musk’s forecast, marking a rare instance of his promise coming to fruition as planned. While the announcement of a future human trial is notable, the true milestone lies in the outcome of this trial. What will the results reveal?
This development raises intriguing questions: Who will volunteer to undergo such a revolutionary procedure, and for what reasons? Will participants primarily include individuals with pressing medical needs, or will some seek to garner attention by standing alongside Musk himself? It even begs the question of whether Musk will personally undergo the implantation procedure at some undisclosed point in the future, as he has previously stated.
Meanwhile, Neuralink has faced allegations of mistreatment toward its monkey test subjects, although the company vehemently denies these claims. Previously, the FDA had rejected Neuralink’s application for human trials in early 2022, citing a multitude of concerns that needed to be addressed.
It’s worth noting that Musk’s Neuralink is not the first entity to venture into brain-computer interfaces for humans. Synchron, for instance, received FDA approval to commence trials in the United States in 2021 and announced the successful implantation of the first brain-computer interface in the country last July. Additionally, Synchron published the outcomes of a previous study involving four human patients in Australia in January.
If you’re considering participating in the Neuralink trial, it is important to note that recruitment is not yet open. Neuralink has advised that more information will be shared “soon,” so it’s a matter of keeping an eye out for updates in the future.
