Elon Musk's monkey, Pager, used a joystick connected to a machine to move the cursor on a color square. Afterward, he was able to control the video game with his brain. (Image Credit: Neuralink)
Elon Musk's monkey played a video game using its brain! Neuralink, a company founded by Musk that develops AI-powered microchips to be implanted in human brains, showed a video of a macaque using the technology to play video games, including "Pong." Musk talked about performing trials on monkeys before, but this is the first time it's on display. In 2019, a monkey managed to control a computer with its brain. One year later, Neuralink demonstrated the tech in a pig named Gertrude.
The chip was implanted in the monkey, named Pager, six weeks ago. He was provided with a joystick hooked up to a video game, allowing him to move a cursor to a colored square. After successfully moving the cursor, he was rewarded with a banana smoothie through a tube. As Pager interacts with the joystick, Neuralink's chip collects his brain activity and transmits the data to a computer for analysis of what his brain does while Pager's hand moves. Afterward, the joystick is disconnected, but the monkey still controls the game via Neuralink's chips relaying brain signals.
In theory, this tech could allow people to control synthetic limbs through a Neuralink brain implant. Musk said the first Neuralink product enables paralyzed humans to control a smartphone.
Primates controlling video games via neural interfaces aren't new. Demonstrations like the one seen in the video were carried out in 2002. This device has the potential to help with new scientific discoveries in the future, especially if it's widely available to scientists. Additionally, it could be used to improve the usability of current neural interface technologies for people with paralysis.
What's new and innovative about this tech is that everything is wireless. That means cables aren't running through the skin, and brain signals are wirelessly transmitted. This is a significant advancement because it ensures safety for human applications and improves animal welfare used in neuroscience studies.
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