BRAIN +
COMPUTER > AI?
!PVMBWCPOCB?YDVTCUFC FVN?O @S?GO WGUF
APNQVUCST #MPO+VTLUFGOLT TP
@Y- 9!Man and machine. Flesh and
steel. The idea of merging
the human brain with artiï cial
intelligence and computers is the
stuff of science ï ction, but that’s
exactly what Elon Musk wants to
do with Neuralink, a company he
founded that could change what we
think the human brain is capable of.Maybe this isn’t surprising
at all. After all, this is the same
man who wants to colonize Mars,
commercialize spaceð ight, and even
create an elaborate underground
trafï c system.
Truly organic brain-computer
interfaces are the stuff of science
ï ction, but when many of Musk’sideas appear culled from literary
imaginations, it’s clear that the
limits of existing technology haven’t
given him pause at all.
What Neuralink is proposing is a
direct reference to something called
a “neural lace,” a term coined by
British author Iain M. Banks for his
!VMUVSC series of novels. In those
books, characters grow a semi-
organic mesh on their cerebral
cortexes that function as a wireless
brain-computer interface, which
also lets them create backups of
their consciousness.
As it turns out, this idea may
not be as far-fetched as it seems.
In 2015, a group of researchers
published a paper in the journal
,?UVSC,?OPUCAFOPMPEY that detailed
an ultra-ï ne mesh that could merge
with the brain to create an interface
between machine and brain matter.
The device was injected with
a syringe, and the researchers
successfully tested it on mice. The
mouse brain cells even grew around
the mesh and formed connections
with the wires, effectively embracing
rather than rejecting it.
Neuralink’s goal is to implant
tiny electrodes in the brain that
may one day “upload and download
thoughts,” which could allow
for more natural and intuitive
interactions with computers and
software.
The initial devices are likely
to be more realistic things like
implants for treating epilepsy and
depression, but the underlying
motivation behind Neuralink is far
more strategic. Musk has long been
concerned about AI, and he thinks
that a successful brain-computer
interface could help us keep up with
super-smart intelligences.
“The benign situation with ultra-
intelligent AI is that we would be so
far below in intelligence we’d be like
a pet, or a house cat,” Musk said at a
conference. “I don’t love the idea of
being a house cat.”PICTURE
DZIANIS RAKHUBA
MAY 2017 | +:0 35