Hail Cyborgs! In the near future, it's possible that you will no longer think with your brains but with the help of computers, and the merger of human and computer, or cyborg, seems to be a trend in the age of artificial intelligence (AI).
Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk has launched a new company that will work on linking computers with human brains in order to help human beings keep pace with robots and avoid potentially being dominated by them as they grow faster and faster.
The company, named Neuralink, is pursuing what Musk calls "neural lace" technology, implanting tiny brain electrodes that may one day upload and download thoughts, Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week.
It is unclear what sorts of products Neuralink might create. But insiders who are familiar with the new company told Wall Street Journal that the first products to be introduced would likely be advanced brain implants - which would treat intractable brain disorders like epilepsy or major depression, a market worth billions of U.S. dollars.
Such implants would build on simpler electrodes already used to treat brain disorders like Parkinson's disease, the sources said.
Musk tweeted on Tuesday that more information about Neuralink could emerge "in about a week." "Difficult to dedicate the time, but existential risk is too high not to," Musk tweeted.
Musk hasn't made an official announcement but Neuralink registered in in California as a "medical research" company.
In February, Musk warned that humans risk becoming irrelevant unless they merge with machines.
"Over time I think we will probably see a closer merger of biological intelligence and digital intelligence," said Musk at the World Government Summit in Dubai.
"It's mostly about the bandwidth, the speed of the connection between your brain and the digital version of yourself - particularly output."
