What Is Neuralink and How Do Brain

Would you let someone implant a computer in your brain?

The term "Neuralink" has been falling in and out of mainstream discussion for some years now and is a love-hate topic. Elon Musk's brain computing company seems to have potential, but how does Neuralink work, and is brain-implant tech safe to use?

Neuralink is a brain-computer interface that can be implanted using a surgical robot (shown in the image above). When the Neuralink device is implanted in the patient's brain, it can communicate with an external computer. In short, it allows your brain to connect with technology.

While there are many discussions surrounding the possible uses of Neuralink, the company's current focus is on helping people with paraplegia live easier and more normal lives. This would be done by allowing the patient to control devices, such as smartphones and computer mouses, using their brain alone.

Neuralink was founded back in July 2016 by Elon Musk and Max Hodak.

You likely know billionaire Elon Musk and his various successful businesses, such as the EV manufacturer Tesla, space exploration company SpaceX, and high-speed internet provider Starlink. But Max Hodak is a far lesser-known name. Hodak is an American entrepreneur who founded Transcriptic and myFit. Hodak has an interest in biological technology, so it's no surprise that he teamed up with Musk in 2016 to found Neuralink. A number of other individuals also teamed up with Musk and Hodak to create Neuralink, including Tim Hansen, Venessa Talosa, and Ben Rapaport.

However, the name "Neuralink" had already been trademarked, so Musk and Hodak had to purchase the rights from the previous owners in order to give the company its now-famous name.

Brain-implant computers (not to be confused with external brain-machine interfaces) are highly sophisticated pieces of technology. These tiny devices, often no bigger than a coin, can trigger, block, and record neural stimulations.

To install a brain implant like Neuralink, a small portion of the skull must be removed by the surgical robot, which is then replaced with the implant. Furthermore, wires extend from the implant across the brain. While it would be easier to keep the Neuralink device outside the skull, the signals sent by the brain could not be picked up at such a distance. This is why surgical insertion is required.

Neuralink uses tiny electrodes to detect, record, and send electrical impulses. These electrodes sit within wires that spread out from the Neuralink chip itself. Each wire contains over a thousand electrodes, showing how intricate these brain implants are. The electrodes on these wires act as sensors that can both pick up on and send out electrical signals.

The electrical signals recorded are sent to an external device, which then processes them to produce a command. Through this process, devices can be controlled using the Neuralink implant.

Depending on their desired use, these implants can also come with temperature and pressure sensors. Neuralink implants, for instance, do come with such capabilities.

The capabilities of such implants can aid the brain in functioning normally and allow it to control exterior objects that it can connect to. Imagine turning on your TV or controlling your air conditioning using a brain chip! That's certainly a new level of convenience!

Though these ideas are exciting, brain implant technology is mostly concerned with aiding illnesses, injuries, and genetic conditions at the moment. As previously touched upon, Neuralink's current focus is on helping paraplegics.

Patients with Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and other neurological disorders could benefit from a Neuralink implant, too. There are also talks of Neuralink helping blind or deaf individuals restore their lost senses if these senses were lost via neural damage.

Though Neuralink is the most well-known neurotechnology company, numerous organizations, such as BrainCo, Kernel, and NeuroSky, are working to achieve similar goals. But regardless of who is manufacturing these implants, it's crucial that they are safe for humans. So, just how safe are brain-implant computers like Neuralink?

There's a good deal of fear surrounding future tech. Anxiety around AI, automation, and brain implants is prevalent, and many ideas about how digital brain implants can go wrong have been expressed. Some worry about these implants causing mental illnesses, while others even think mind control is possible. But is this all sci-fi-fueled hysteria, or is Neuralink (and brain implants like it) a danger to humans?

At the moment, it's hard to tell just how safe brain-implant computers like Neuralink are. Neuralink has been tested on numerous animals, such as pigs, rats, and monkeys (one of which allowed a monkey to play ping pong with its mind). A particular experiment on a pig showed that the Neuralink implant can be removed safely if needed, which means humans may not need to commit to their implant for a lifetime.

But Neuralink is yet to be tested on a human being, so we really have no idea how our more complex minds would react. In mid-2023, Neuralink announced that it had received permission from the FDA to conduct its first human clinical study. So, we may be seeing the effects of Neuralink on human brains sooner rather than later.

However, Neuralink's bid to test its implants on humans has been rejected by the FDA in the past. A Reuters article published in March 2023 states that several current and former Neuralink staff said one FDA application had been rejected in 2022. The Neuralink implant's lithium battery was just one of the concerns the FDA had at the time of Neuralink's rejection.

Even with the FDA's 2023 approval, many risk factors are at play here. Sterile and accurate implantation, degradation of the implant over time, and patient after-care are all things that must be carefully considered here. The reliability of the surgical robot inserting the implant will also need to be thoroughly determined before use on humans.

But even after the first few clinical trials Neuralink conducts on humans, there'll still be no way of knowing the long-term effects of brain-implant computers. It'll certainly be a while before we get the answer to this specific question.

With all its incredible capabilities and promising potential, many are excited to see how Neuralink, and the neurotechnology field in general, progresses over the coming years and decades. Many safety considerations need to be addressed here, but if such issues are ironed out, you could one day be controlling your devices just by using your brain. Sci-fi concepts are truly coming to life in the 21st century!

Katie has been writing about tech-based topics for two years, with a specific interest in cybersecurity, AI, and cryptocurrency. Katie has covered a variety of topics during her time at MUO, including crypto explainers, cybersecurity guides, VPN reviews, recent hacks, and software tutorials. With a passion for emerging tech, Katie is also excited to see what new devices and digital platforms the coming years will bring.