Elon Musk’s Neuralink launches human trials for thought-to-text brain implant this October

Neuralink, one of Elon Musk’s companies, will launch a clinical trial of its human brain implant in the US in October. The test will demonstrate the ability of the company’s technology to translate thought to text as it aims to embed chips in the heads of healthy people by the end of the decade.

Neuralink has obtained approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to use a device with an investigational exemption for the upcoming trial, according to DJ Seo, the company president. He revealed this at the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies in Seoul this week.

Describing the aim of the trial, Seo said, “We’re currently envisioning a world where in about 3 to 4 years, there will be someone who’s otherwise healthy who’s going to get a Neuralink. If you’re imagining saying something, we would be able to pick that up.”

However, Neuralink aims to enhance the lives of people living with serious medical conditions in the short term by developing a brain-computer interface that enables the brain to communicate wirelessly with electronic devices.

Neuralink is currently trialling chips that allow people with paralysis to control a computer with their mind, but wants to take things further by reading directly from the brain. Seo also stated that the upgrade will introduce the ability to query Artificial Intelligence (AI) models with the mind