Elon Musk promises ‘working device’ at Neuralink event

Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk has promised a “working demo” of his less talked about brain tech company’s first device.

Elon Musk has teased a working demo of his Neuralink company’s mysterious device that promises to let people control computers using only their brain.

The Tesla and SpaceX founder made the announcement in his usual way by tweeting about it.

Live webcast of working @Neuralink device
Friday 3pm Pacific https://t.co/PouLbrGzFU

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 26, 2020

Musk co-founded Neuralink in 2016.

The company’s goal is building “interfaces” that allow people to control computers using their brain.

It plans to use ultra-thin wiring implanted by surgical robots, which then connects to an external processor that can translate a person’s thoughts into a computer’s actions.

The company has reportedly had some success testing the device on mice and apes.

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A Neuralink device tested on animals.

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It has planned to start testing on humans this year, and if Musk shows off a workable device in the webcast at 8am Saturday (AEST) as promised, testing could soon begin.

A preprint paper authored by Musk and Neuralink last year said that the brain-machine interfaces (BMI) Neuralink is working on “hold promise for the restoration of sensory and motor function and the treatment of neurological disorders”.

He’s also theorised the devices will be necessary for humans to keep up with artificial intelligence.

An early look at a Neuralink device.

Musk previously said the company’s mission statement was, “If you can’t beat em, join em.”

Those applications seem a while away, and make for a harder sell than restoring sense and movement to people with neurological disorders.

It’s hoped the eventual implantation of a Neuralink BMI could be done robotically or via machine, making it as simple as laser eye surgery.

The wires implanted in the brain are less than a hair’s breadth.

Musk said this ease of implantation is necessary to overcome the constraints and costs of using highly trained neurosurgeons.

It’s still unknown what the “working device” Musk plans to unveil on the weekend is, but given his busy schedule, it’s safe to assume it should be something worth his time to talk about.