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What Is Neuralink: A Look At What It Is, What It Wants to Be, and What It Could Become

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What Is Neuralink: A Look At What It Is, What It Wants to Be, and What It Could Become

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Main idea:
It's designed to help paraplegics with simple tasks such as using an iPhone and making mouse clicks on a computer.

Arguments/ facts:
-  Elon Musk and his team are optimistic about beginning by the end of 2020
- Neuralink does involve surgically implanting some components onto the surface of your brain.

Dialogue:
Is it that easy as Elon Musk say?

Summary:
This device is involved surgically implanting some components onto the surface of your brain. Elon Musk and his team are optimistic about beginning by the end of 2020, he says that it is as simple as using an iPhone and making mouse clicks on a computer.

Kenny. (2019, July 18) What Is Neuralink: A Look At What It Is, What It Wants to Be, and What It Could Become. Retrieved from: https://towardsdatascience.com/what-is-neuralink-a-look-at-what-it-is-what-it-wants-to-be-and-what-it-could-become-2acf32b51dc5

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This robot has the ability to make the precise movements necessary to install the threads into your brain. It sounds like a simple task, but at the small scale that the threads are, it becomes a task that's about as complicated as landing a space rocket safely back on Earth - something Musk is all too familiar with.

These things are really, really small. You really can't manipulate them with your hand. The threads are peeled off one at a time by the robot to place into the brain... So we had to build a surgical robot... The surgery is not possible without the robot.

- Max Hodak, President of Neuralink

That's because, at that scale, there are other factors that it has to consider; for example, breathing and heartbeat. Both are involuntary. Sure, a person who is not under complete sedation could try to hold his or her breath for the hour-long procedure, but can he or she hold a heartbeat? I don't think anyone would recommend that.

You might wonder if poking the brain will just end up in massive headaches from the pain. The answer is no. First of all, the brain does not have any pain receptors, so you won't feel anything. Second of all, the electrodes are so thin. If the hair analogy isn't visual enough, think of it like this: those electrodes are thinner than a mosquito's proboscis (that long needle that comes out when it wants to suck your blood) - the inner part of its mouth, the Labium, is around 40 nanometers in diameter (compared to the electrode's 6 nanometer diameter). When was the last time you felt a mosquito biting you?

Take a look at the Neuralink surgical robot in action (Source: Neuralink Launch Event on YouTube)

The Neuralink surgical robot takes the variables into account when identifying the right areas to place each electrode, minimizing the likelihood of hitting a blood vessel - which would not be good for the brain. In the image above (you can click the source link to go straight to the point in the live stream where they show this video), the top two pieces of footage show the movement of a simulated brain with variables such as heartbeat and breathing, while the bottom left one shows what the robot sees after accounting for these variables - a seemingly still brain.

The Part That's Outside the Brain

Having a bionic superbrain chip robotically implanted in your head is something that most of us would consider a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Musk and his team want to keep it that way. Software updates are already inconvenient, and always happen whenever we don't want them to. The idea of having to make a trip to the local neurosurgeon every time the software wants to run an update takes away a glimpse of the appeal that having a superbrain might bring. So a large piece of Neuralink resides outside of the skull, as a wearable behind your ear.

The Neuralink wearable named the Link (source)

This wearable, called the Link, houses the software as well as the battery. This way, when you're at 5% battery life, you can just remove the device to recharge. Same with a software update - the processing happens on the Link.

It wants to be a computer inside everyone's brain - one that we don't have to carry around in our hands, and that's undetectable in use. While Elon Musk probably likes the idea of helping out paraplegics, nothing seems to tickle him more than giving our future AI overlords a good kick below the belt. And he believes Neuralink will deliver that blow.

In the [unmeasurable] future, he sees Neuralink's brain-chip as elective surgery. That means it won't be covered by insurance in the United States. Sorry, that last sentence was an irrelevant, sarcastic jab at the joke that is American healthcare. In all seriousness, what it means is that people will want it, not need it. It may become more common around the world than plastic surgery (maybe with the exception of Beverly Hills).

[Neuralink] is not a mandatory thing. This is a thing you can choose to have if you want. This is something I think will be really important at a civilization-level scale.

- Elon Musk

Interestingly enough, Musk says that Neuralink won't be mandatory, although if every other person around you has a brain the speed of a quantum computer, you might need one for yourself if you want to compete for whatever jobs there might still be for humans at that time. With the assistance of Neuralink, though, John Connor - er, I mean, Musk, believes we can stand a chance against an inevitable Skynet.

Well, from a capitalist perspective, bigger than Apple or any other existing tech giant (except maybe Amazon, because otherwise where would we go shopping with our minds?). Why do you need an iPhone or an Apple Watch (actually, why do you even need an Apple watch right now...) when you've got it all in your head! The success of Neuralink will change the trajectory of future innovation. What once seemed quite innovative and still beyond reach (e.g., augmented reality glasses) now seems a bit outdated when imagining a future with Neuralink.

But Neuralink can go far beyond the novelties of augmented reality Space Invaders. For example, telepathy is not that farfetched anymore. After all, the signals being received by the electrodes can be wirelessly transmitted to electronic devices, and the Link earpiece itself is an electronic device. Transferring the messages from one Link device to another would be akin to airdropping images between iPhones. Add in a bit of quantum entanglement, and maybe we can make some telepathic phone calls to our Martian families. At this point in time, Neuralink's technology probably won't be able to create full sentences from the little firings in your neurons, but it can be trained to translate certain firing patterns into, maybe, images. Or single words. And this type of feature can be improved over time.

The speed of communication will also improve. Right now, when I'm typing, the speed at which I communicate is limited to the speed at which my fingers can gracefully traverse planet QWERTY. When I'm using my phone, it's how fast my thumbs can weave. Even when I'm speaking, I can only speak so quickly before I get tongue twisted. But a mind's thoughts are instant. Neuralink may eventually be able to capture those instant thoughts and transcribe them into instant communication, faster than the words can leave my mouth.

Another, more edgy use could be as a replacement for drugs - let's start with the more acceptable, recreational ones. You wouldn't need to drink coffee, smoke cigarettes, or drink alcohol anymore in order to get their effects. Those businesses may end up in the industry graveyard, replaced by an app version available for $0.99 (maybe for $50, accounting for inflation). Other, more illicit ones, can be abused as well, in a digital manner. This potential does raise questions about how Neuralink intends to regulate the use of its software, including third-party development. Right now, though, governments seem to be busy handling Facebook's Libra, so it's a concern they'll have to deal with at a later date.

The Future Concerns

Talking about concerns, there's a list of that, too. Ransomware, a virus that locks your computer's files and deletes them one by one until you pay a ransom (usually in Bitcoin), is a serious threat to computer networks today. Now imagine that on your brain. Hacking, software bugs, and hardware defects could be a threat to your daily life.

In the less-distant future, another concern is Neuralink's ability to not only read signals, fire its own signals - it's essentially able to do work on behalf of your neurons. But the brain is very sensitive - it changes throughout an entire lifetime in response to different stimuli, including chemicals and how neurons communicate with each other. Adding Neuralink into the equation could change how our brains develop.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What Is Neuralink: A Look At What It Is, What It Wants to Be, and What It Could Become

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This robot has the ability to make the precise movements necessary to install the threads into your brain. It sounds like a simple task, but at the small scale that the threads are, it becomes a task that's about as complicated as landing a space rocket safely back on Earth - something Musk is all too familiar with.

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What Is Neuralink? Why Does Elon Musk Plan To Put Chip In Human Brain?

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What Is Neuralink? Why Does Elon Musk Plan To Put Chip In Human Brain?

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Main idea:
The Neuralink was founded by Musk. This chip can be implanted in the human brain and linked to a computer.

Arguments /facts:
-Size of a coin
-It stimulate brain activity
-surgically inserted using robotics by neurosurgeons.
- human brain & technology

Dialogue:
Isn't it scary to have a chip on your brain that can control you? Is it secure?

Summary:
This incredible chip made by Elon Musk it's of the size of a coin. It would be surgically inserted using robotics by neosurgeons. It record brain activity and potentially stimulate it. It's a connection between the human brain and the technology.

Massey, Erick (2023, January 22)What Is Neuralink? Why Does Elon Musk Plan To Put Chip In Human Brain?

https://www.outlookindia.com/business/what-is-elon-musk-s-neuralink-chip-why-does-elo

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Last year, Elon Musk 's company Neuralink shared a video of a monkey playing ping pong with its mind. A few days later, Musk tweeted that this technology could be tested in humans and can possibly cure brain diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

On Thursday, Musk, who also runs Tesla, SpaceX, and Twitter, announced that a wireless device developed by his Brain Chip interfaces start-up will be ready for human trials in six months.

With this, Musk hopes to implant the coin-sized computing brain implant into human patients, he revealed at an event held at the company's California headquarter.

"We think probably in about six months, we should be able to have a Neuralink installed in a human," Musk said at the event.

Besides, Musk said its company is also working on two major products - it's developing implants that can go into the spinal cord and potentially restore movement in someone suffering from paralysis. And it has an ocular implant meant to improve or restore human vision.
What Is Neuralink?
Musk founded Neuralink, the Brain Control Interfaces startup six years ago. The company is building technology that could be embedded in a person's brain, where it could both record brain activity and potentially stimulate it.

It has been working on a chip that can be implanted in the human brain and linked to a computer. This chip will monitor and potentially stimulate brain activity.

The chip Neuralink is developing is about the size of a coin, and would be surgically inserted into the brain using robotics by neurosurgeons.

Monkey MindPong https://t.co/7zstTZ1X1w pic.twitter.com/GYrYNsJ68u
- Neuralink (@neuralink) April 8, 2021

In this procedure, a chipset called the link is implanted in the skull. It has a number of insulated wires connected from the electrodes that are used in the process.

This device can then be used to operate smartphones and computers. Neuralink has in recent years been conducting tests on animals as it seeks approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin clinical trials in people.

"We want to be extremely careful and certain that it will work well before putting a device into a human," Musk said.
How Neuralink Can Be Useful?
Neuralink can be used as a connection between the human brain and technology. This means that people with paralysis can easily operate their phones and computer directly with their brains.

The chipset wires will be able to both monitor brain activity and electrically stimulate the brain.

"We've already got a monkey with a wireless implant in their skull, and the tiny wires, who can play video games using his mind," Musk said during a long and wide-ranging interview on Clubhouse.

Improved neural interface technology like Neuralink could be used to better study and treat severe neurological conditions such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. Musk in 2019 said Neuralink could in the future "solve a lot of brain-related diseases,"
Controversy Around Neuralink
While Musk's company has been testing its chip on monkeys, it was last year that it was
accused of subjecting its monkeys to illegal mistreatment and extreme suffering during chip implant tests.

According to a Business Insider report, an animal-rights group submitted an official complaint to the US Department of Agriculture where they claimed that monkeys experience "extreme suffering as a result of inadequate animal care and the highly invasive experimental head implants during the experiments."

The group also claimed that out of 23 monkeys owned by Neuralink, only seven survived the tests and were transferred to a Neuralink facility in 2020, while 15 died.

However, Neuralink said only eight were euthanised, the report said.

Earlier in April 2021, the company released a video that showed a monkey, which has a Neuralink chip placed in its head, playing the video game called 'Pong' on a computer.

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What Is Neuralink? Why Does Elon Musk Plan To Put Chip In Human Brain?

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Last year, Elon Musk 's company Neuralink shared a video of a monkey playing ping pong with its mind. A few days later, Musk tweeted that this technology could be tested in humans and can possibly cure brain diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

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Neuralink Employees Admit Company Has Killed 1,500 Animals So Far

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Neuralink Employees Admit Company Has Killed 1,500 Animals So Far

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Main idea:

The company killed many animals, what will happen to us?

Arguments/ facts:

- they have killed 280 sheeps, pigs and monkeys.

- We dont know how many have died especially from the process of implanting

- Many employees left the company because of how they are treating animals.

-  Elon Musk calls these surgeries "confirmatory, not exploratory"

Dialouge:

They would have big problems if they would do it on humans, which would die.

Summary:

This just shows how dangerous is neuralink. It had killed so many animals. And they will probably kill more in future. The surgery where the neuralink is implanted still needs to be beter.

Christian, Jon (2022, June 12) Neuralink Employees Admit Company Has Killed 1,500 Animals So Far. Retrieved from : https://futurism.com/neuralink-federal-investigation

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We already knew that there were problems at Elon Musk's brain-computer interface startup, Neuralink. Internally, employees have warned of chaos as they say Musk pushes for overly ambitious goals. Externally, subject matter experts say that Musk's glib promises gloss over profound challenges standing in the way of a commercial brain implant for humans - and downplays deep ethical questions that will emerge if it does succeed.

Another problem has been looming since early on as well: criticism of how the venture is treating its animal test subjects. Now, a bombshell Reuters story reports that those concerns have deepened considerably in the form of a federal probe about animal wellbeing at the company by the US Department of Agriculture's Inspector General, at the request of a federal prosecutor.

Reuters' reporting sounds extensive, drawing on what the news agency says are interviews with numerous current and former employees of Neuralink at a "time of growing employee dissent about Neuralink's animal testing."

The specific allegations are grim, with Reuters reporting that Neuralink has since 2018 so far killed around 1,500 animals, including 280 sheep, pigs and monkeys. It's not clear how many of the animals have died specifically after being implanted with the company's prototype brain chip - which Musk said this week expects to be implanting in human subjects within six months - but it had been previously reported that 21 percent of its monkeys died because of issues with the devices.

Sources tell Reuters that many mistakes endangering animal wellbeing are avoidable. For example, employees told the outlet, the company allegedly botched surgery on two pigs when it implanted their chips on the wrong vertebra, leading the company veterinarian to recommend killing one of the animals due to its "poor psychological well-being."

Worse, employees told Reuters that mistakes that led to the animals' deaths were sometimes exacerbated by Musk pushing the company to work faster than was safe. One employee vented to colleagues in a message obtained by Reuters that the company's work on animals was a "hack jobs." The outlet reported that numerous employees have raised the concerns internally, and some have left the company entirely due to concerns about how the animals were being treated.

Another detail reported in the story smacked of an ugly retroactive approach to scientific literature: after Musk described the company's approach to surgery as "confirmatory, not exploratory," company researchers were allegedly instructed to scrub the word "exploratory" from study titles retroactively, and to avoid using it in the future.

Neuralink's problems with perception of its animal testing had been building for some time. PETA has spoken out the company, and a legal battle is currently underway to obtain photos of monkeys that Neuralink experimented on at the University of California, Davis.

A federal investigation, though - as well as what sounds like growing rancor at the company over Musk's dictatorial managerial style - could represent a swiftly darkening shadow over the company already-challenged venture. The drama also comes as Musk is facing steep challenges at his just-acquired social media site Twitter as well as delays at SpaceX and a range of problems at Tesla.
More on Neuralink: Elon Musk Shows Off Monkey That Can Type With Brain Implant Instead of Typewriter

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Neuralink Employees Admit Company Has Killed 1,500 Animals So Far

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We already knew that there were problems at Elon Musk's brain-computer interface startup, Neuralink. Internally, employees have warned of chaos as they say Musk pushes for overly ambitious goals. Externally, subject matter experts say that Musk's glib promises gloss over profound challenges standing in the way of a commercial brain implant for humans - and downplays deep ethical questions that will emerge if it does succeed.

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Main idea:

Neuralink implants are an essential step to improving people's lives and the implantation became more secure.

Arguments/facts:

-Neuralink aims to be a safer and smaller option than some previous MBI technology

-Offer a low-power chip that doesn't require frequent battery changes.

-Neuralinks hopes to use a sewing robot to implant the chip into the brain

Dialogue:

This idea really excites me, I wonder how the sewing robot will work.

Summary:

Elon Musk is still working on Neuralink and the main thing he is focused on improving is the safety of the chip. Some of the changes he did and plans to do are the battery and size of the chip, and also a sewing robot to do the implantation much faster.

Tsui Jenna, 2022, Why Neuralink's Implants Are an Essential Step in MedTech Innovation, Retrieved from:

https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/articles/why-neuralinks-implants-are-an-essential-step-in-medtech-innovation-323534

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Elon Musk claims his Neuralink brain chip could ‘cure’ tinnitus in 5 years. But don’t hold your breath

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Elon Musk claims his Neuralink brain chip could ‘cure’ tinnitus in 5 years. But don’t hold your breath

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Main idea:
Tinnitus will be cured with this experiment, just like some more disseases like parkinson, epilepsia, paraplegia, quadriplegia or paralyzed people.

Arguments /facts:
- Tinnitus will be cured
- It will be in 2027
-Parkinson, epilepsia, paraplegia, quadriplegia or paralyzed people will also be cured.

Dialogue:
It has been a grat idea to create this experiment although it's scary, but how did Elon Musk has the idea to create this experiment?

Summary:
The Neuralink will cure  parkinson, epilepsia, paraplegia, quadriplegia or paralyzed people. That may make some people really happy, imagine you are a person with quadriplegia and you are able to walk again and move your whole body again.

Tuffley, David. (2022, May 4) Elon Musk claims his Neuralink brain chip could ‘cure’ tinnitus in 5 years. But don’t hold your breath. Retrieved from: https://theconversation.com/elon-musk-claims-his-neuralink-brain-chip-could-cure-tinnitus-in-5years-but-dont-hold-your-breath-182156

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The human brain is said to be the most complex biological structure ever to have existed. And while science doesn't fully understand the brain yet, researchers in the expanding field of neuroscience have been making progress.

Neuroscientists have made substantial inroads towards mapping the complex functions of the brain's 85 billion or so neurons and the 100 trillion connections between them. (To put this astronomical number into perspective, there are upwards of 400 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy.)

Enter Neuralink, a Silicon Valley start-up backed by Elon Musk that has developed a neuroprosthetic device known as a brain-computer interface. Among other things, Musk claims this chip could cure tinnitus, the neurological condition that causes ringing in your ears, within five years. But is this possible?

What is Neuralink?

The coin-sized Neuralink device, called a Link, is implanted flush with the skull by a precision surgical robot. The robot connects a thousand miniature threads from the Link to certain neurons. Each thread is a quarter the diameter of a human hair.

The device connects to an external computer by Bluetooth for continuous communication back and forth.

Read more: An electronic chip that makes 'memories' is a step towards creating bionic brains

In future, Neuralink prostheses might help people with various kinds of neurological disorders where there is a disconnect or malfunction between the brain and the nerves that serve the body. That includes people with paraplegia, quadriplegia, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.

Since its establishment in 2016, Neuralink has been recruiting top-class neuroscientists from academia and the broader research community to develop the technology to treat these conditions.

Neuralink's monkey can play Pong with his mind

In April 2021, the company released a remarkable proof-of-concept video. It showed a nine-year-old macaque monkey called Pager successfully playing a game of Pong with his mind, by having an implanted Neuralink device connected to a computer running the game.

Pager was shown how to play Pong using a joystick. When he made a correct move, he'd receive a sip of banana smoothie.

As he played, the Neuralink implant recorded the patterns of electrical activity in his brain. This identified which neurons controlled which movements.

When the joystick was disconnected, Pager was able to play the game and win using only his mind.

Human trials to further develop the Neuralink prototype are expected to commence towards the end of 2022, contingent on United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval.

Musk's tinnitus claims

Elon Musk has claimed the Neuralink device could cure tinnitus by 2027.

Tinnitus is a neurological condition that manifests as a ringing or buzzing in the ears in the absence of an external source.

Tinnitus is a common problem, caused when the nerve that connects the inner ear with the brain, known as the vestibulocochlear nerve, is damaged due to prolonged loud noise, injury or deficiencies in blood supply.

A cure for tinnitus has proven elusive. Treatment currently centres on masking the sound or learning to ignore it.

At present, the Neuralink prosthesis connects to the cerebral cortex, the surface layer of the brain. This is where the device can remedy damage to the brain's ability to process motor sensory input or output.

Are Musk's claims credible?

These claims might appear grandiose. Yet the underlying science is not controversial.

Neural implants have been helping people since the early 1960s when the first cochlear implant was placed in a person with impaired hearing. There has been much progress in the 60 years since then.

Read more: Neuralink put a chip in Gertrude the pig's brain. It might be useful one day

Neuroscientists are broadly optimistic the device has potential to treat tinnitus. It may also be useful in treating obsessive compulsive disorder, repairing brain injuries, and treat conditions such as autism or degenerative diseases of the nervous system using deep brain stimulation.

As Paul Nuyujukian, director of the Brain Interfacing Laboratory at Stanford University, observes:

We are on the cusp of a complete paradigm shift. This type of technology has the potential to transform our treatments. Not just for stroke, paralysis, and motor degenerative disease, but also for pretty much every other type of brain disease.

What do we need to be cautious of?

The FDA categorises Neuralink as a class III medical device, the riskiest category. Before human trials start, Neuralink must successfully clear the rigorous FDA regulatory controls.

To be approved, the company must provide exhaustive clinical trial data from non-human test subjects (such as Pager the monkey) to conservatively justify moving to the next phase. Some monkeys have died during Neuralink's tests, and critics have raised animal welfare concerns.

The approvals process for human testing could take some time.

The regulators will be looking for unintended negative consequences of the device, such as depression. Also of interest will be how practical it is to remove or repair a device should it malfunction, and how to manage the risk of brain injury or infection.

Read more: How Theranos' faulty blood tests got to market - and what that shows about gaps in FDA regulation

Once FDA-approved, Neuralink will enlist human volunteers and the next round of trials will proceed.

How long it will be until the device is commercially available and how much it will cost is anyone's guess. It could be years and with a price tag that puts it out of reach for all but the wealthy.

So it's wise to not hold out false hope for an affordable implant in the short term.

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Elon Musk claims his Neuralink brain chip could 'cure' tinnitus in 5 years. But don't hold your breath

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The human brain is said to be the most complex biological structure ever to have existed. And while science doesn't fully understand the brain yet, researchers in the expanding field of neuroscience have been making progress. Neuroscientists have made substantial inroads towards mapping the complex functions of the brain's 85 billion or so neurons and the 100 trillion connections between them.

# data[].attributes.body
Main idea:

Neuralink allowing us to control our phone

Arguments / Facts:

- Neuralink will allow us to control our devices from everywhere we go.

- It will connect us with bluetooth

- Neuralink is designing an app to allow us to control our keybord and mouse just by thinking about it.

- The app has guides and exercises that will teach us how to use the device

Dialouge:

It will help lazy people :)

Summary:

Neuralink will make everything easier. It also has an app to teach us everything we need to know about it. Also doing work on laptops will be easier, because we can olny think about what we want to write and then it will be done.

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Main idea:
What kind of risks does this device have after implanting it into your brain?

Arguments/ facts:
- They need to learn the successes and failures of existing brain-computer interface technologies.
- The threads connecting to the chip need to be flexible, to minimize the damage to the brain tissue.
- Said that implanting the device would be as safe as having laser eye surgery, but the company still needs the FDA's approval.
- Epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease, also injuries to spinal nerves.

Dialogue:
What will happen if they implant the chip wrongly?

Summary:
They still don't realize the consequences that Neuralink can cause, this chip has to be implanted near all the nerves to pick up signals. Even though they said that can help with neurological disorders they are followed by Epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease, also injuries to spinal nerves.

(2019, October 9) Science Focus. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencefocus.com/future-technology/everything-you-need-to-know-about-neuralink/

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With Tesla and Space X, Elon Musk made electric cars and private spaceflight ubiquitous. Now, with Neuralink, he hopes he can do the same for mind-machine interfaces.

What is Neuralink?

Elon Musk wants to control machines with just the power of thought. To that end, in July 2019 Musk and his team revealed that they had developed ultrafine 'threads' that can be woven into your brain to listen in on your neurons. The company has also built a robot that can perform the delicate surgery, under the supervision of a neurosurgeon.

When the company was first launched in 2016, Musk said he wanted to help humans compete in a world where artificial intelligence had surpassed them - to give us more 'bandwidth'. But with this new announcement the researchers have turned their attention to helping those with brain-related disorders.

How does Neuralink work?

The N1, a 4mm-square chip, is implanted into the skull. Attached to the chip are wires thinner than a human hair, which reach out into the brain. These threads are placed close to important parts of the brain and are able to detect messages as they are relayed between neurons, recording each impulse and stimulating their own. Neuralink says the N1 is able to connect with 1,000 different brain cells, and that a patient might have as many as 10 N1 chips implanted.

The chips connect wirelessly to a wearable device that hooks over the user's ear, much like a hearing aid, and contains a Bluetooth radio and a battery.

Neuralink says the first devices will be implanted via traditional neurosurgery, but eventually the chips will be inserted safely and virtually painlessly through small incisions by a robot surgeon.

What kind of conditions could be treated using Neuralink technology?

The technology could help with neurological disorders, which are rooted in the inability of the brain to connect with nerves around the body. These include epilepsy and Parkinson's disease, but also paraplegia and quadriplegia following injuries to spinal nerves.
Read more about Elon Musk's projects:
Does Neuralink have to be stuck inside my brain?

Unfortunately, the technology needs to be close to each nerve in order to pick up signals - anything further than 60 microns wouldn't be able to detect individual impulses (1 micron = 0.001mm).

What are the risks of Neuralink?

Neuralink will need to learn from the successes (and failures) of existing brain-computer interface technologies. The threads connecting electrodes to the chip need to be flexible, to minimise the damage to surrounding brain tissue. And if this technology is to be given to patients with pre-existing conditions, there are also risks associated with operating on those whose immune systems may be compromised.

Musk reassured the audience that implanting the device would be as safe as having laser eye surgery, but the company is yet to seek FDA approval, which it will need to market the device.

There aren't just health risks, either: society will need to consider what to do with the data recorded by the N1. What are the ethics behind monitoring someone's every thought, deed and emotion?

So when could Neuralink become a reality?

Musk hopes for human studies to begin as early as 2020, a date some say is wildly optimistic. At the launch, Neuralink's CEO Max Hodak stated that the first patients would be those with quadriplegia due to spinal cord injuries. These patients will have four chips implanted, connecting with up to 4,000 different neurons.

The benefits extend beyond the disabled. Musk hopes that the technology will become commonplace, turning the humans into cyborg beings that can achieve a symbiosis with artificial intelligence - something he believes will be essential to the survival of our species.

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Everything you need to know about Neuralink

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With Tesla and Space X, Elon Musk made electric cars and private spaceflight ubiquitous. Now, with Neuralink, he hopes he can do the same for mind-machine interfaces. Elon Musk wants to control machines with just the power of thought.

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 ¿Quién es Max Hodak, el socio de Elon Musk que renunció a Neuralink?

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 ¿Quién es Max Hodak, el socio de Elon Musk que renunció a Neuralink?

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Main idea:

Max Hodak, a co-founder of neuralink with Elon Musk, leaves the conpany

Arguments / Facts

- Max Hodak invested milions of dolars in this company, yet he still leaved it

- The reason why he left is unknown

- Max Hodak has a background in biomedical engineering
He took part in many projects, and usually he didnt leave them with out reasons

Dialouge:

Mabye he left the company because what he was doing exceeded him and he realised that what he is doing is bad

Summary:

Max Hodak left the company for which he devoted so many time and money for, although he didnt say the reason why did he do that.

ExpansionMx (2021, May 4) ¿Quién es Max Hodak, el socio de Elon Musk que renunció a Neuralink? Retrieved from:

https://expansion.mx/tecnologia/2021/05/04/quien-es-max-hodak-el-socio-de-elon-musk-que-renuncio-a-neuralink

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Infórmate en menos de cinco minutos de lo más importante del día.

Durante su periodo en la empresa de neurotecnología, Hodak fue parte de diferentes polémicas, a causa de sus interesantes proyectos para crear interfaces cerebro-máquina.

Max Hodak renunció a la presidencia de Neuralink, la empresa que cofundó al lado de Elon Musk y cuyo propósito inicial era encontrar la manera de conectar el cerebro humano con las computadoras. Hasta el momento se desconoce la razón por la cual dejó su puesto.

Hodak no dio a conocer las razones por las cuales abandonó la compañía, pero este era un tema del cual se había hablado con anterioridad. "Ya no estoy en Neuralink (desde hace unas semanas). ¡Aprendí mucho allí y sigo siendo un gran animador de la compañía! Adelante hacia nuevas cosas", escribió en su cuenta oficial de Twitter el 1 de mayo.

Hodak tiene formación en ingeniería biomédica, su principal interés de investigación son las interfaces cerebro-máquina. Antes de Neuralink fundó , un laboratorio robótico en la nube para la ciencias de la vida, y , donde desarrolló herramientas analíticas para ayudar a universidades a identificar estudiantes de alto rendimiento, la cual fue adquirida por Naviance en octubre de 2010.

Posteriormente cofundó Neuralink al lado de Elon Musk, quien ha invertido millones de dólares propios en la empresa, así como con más personas en el 2016. Desde sus inicios, la empresa se ha concentrado en el desarrollo de interfaces cerebro-máquina y según el propio Musk, en el futuro esta tecnología se podría usar para permitir que las personas parapléjicas vuelvan a caminar.

Asimismo, el empresario ha dicho que entre otras capacidades potenciales de la tecnología que se investiga en Neuralink es manejar un automóvil de Tesla con el pensamiento, percibir cosas dentro de videojuegos o incluso guardar y reproducir recuerdos.

Incluso ha dicho que estos recursos permitirán que los humanos logren una "simbiosis con la Inteligencia Artificial". Sin embargo, algunas comunidades médicas y científicas han criticado a Neuralink. Un ejemplo de ello es el MIT Technology Review, el cual llamó a la compañía un "teatro de la neurociencia" después de una demostración de una cerda a la cual se implantó un dispositivo de Neuralink en el cerebro.

Otro de los momentos polémicos en torno a Neuralink fue el video donde aparece un mono con un chip implantado en el cerebro jugando Pong. Sobre esto, Musk aseguró en su cuenta de Twitter que el animal estaba "jugando literalmente al videojuego de forma telepática usando un chip cerebral".

No obstante, el propio Hodak fue blanco de las críticas después de cuestionar a inicios de abril por qué la ciencia no ha buscado las formas de crear especies por medio de mecanismos genéticos al estilo de Jurassic Park. "Genéticamente no serían auténticos dinosaurios, pero qué importa. Unos 15 años de crianza e ingeniería nos darán exóticas especies inéditas", escribió en la red social.

Poco tiempo después afirmó que la "desextinción" de las especies podría ser un elemento valioso para incrementar la biodiversidad en el planeta, lo cual interpretó como un elemento de suma relevancia para el momento que vive la naturaleza.

"La biodiversidad (antifragilidad) definitivamente es valiosa; la conservación es importante y tiene sentido. Pero ¿por qué detenerse ahí? ¿Por qué no tratamos de generar una nueva diversidad de forma intencional?", tuiteó Hodak.

Sin embargo, especialistas criticaron esta postura, pues el hecho de devolver a especies extintas marcaría un problema tanto para ellas, como para sus ecosistemas y las demás especies que viven en ellos.

Max Hodak renunció a la presidencia de Neuralink, la empresa que cofundó al lado de Elon Musk y cuyo propósito inicial era encontrar la manera de conectar el cerebro humano con las computadoras. Hasta el momento se desconoce la razón por la cual dejó su puesto.

Hodak no dio a conocer las razones por las cuales abandonó la compañía, pero este era un tema del cual se había hablado con anterioridad. "Ya no estoy en Neuralink (desde hace unas semanas). ¡Aprendí mucho allí y sigo siendo un gran animador de la compañía! Adelante hacia nuevas cosas", escribió en su cuenta oficial de Twitter el 1 de mayo.

Hodak tiene formación en ingeniería biomédica, su principal interés de investigación son las interfaces cerebro-máquina. Antes de Neuralink fundó , un laboratorio robótico en la nube para la ciencias de la vida, y , donde desarrolló herramientas analíticas para ayudar a universidades a identificar estudiantes de alto rendimiento, la cual fue adquirida por Naviance en octubre de 2010.

Posteriormente cofundó Neuralink al lado de Elon Musk, quien ha invertido millones de dólares propios en la empresa, así como con más personas en el 2016. Desde sus inicios, la empresa se ha concentrado en el desarrollo de interfaces cerebro-máquina y según el propio Musk, en el futuro esta tecnología se podría usar para permitir que las personas parapléjicas vuelvan a caminar.

Asimismo, el empresario ha dicho que entre otras capacidades potenciales de la tecnología que se investiga en Neuralink es manejar un automóvil de Tesla con el pensamiento, percibir cosas dentro de videojuegos o incluso guardar y reproducir recuerdos.

Incluso ha dicho que estos recursos permitirán que los humanos logren una "simbiosis con la Inteligencia Artificial". Sin embargo, algunas comunidades médicas y científicas han criticado a Neuralink. Un ejemplo de ello es el MIT Technology Review, el cual llamó a la compañía un "teatro de la neurociencia" después de una demostración de una cerda a la cual se implantó un dispositivo de Neuralink en el cerebro.

Otro de los momentos polémicos en torno a Neuralink fue el video donde aparece un mono con un chip implantado en el cerebro jugando Pong. Sobre esto, Musk aseguró en su cuenta de Twitter que el animal estaba "jugando literalmente al videojuego de forma telepática usando un chip cerebral".

No obstante, el propio Hodak fue blanco de las críticas después de cuestionar a inicios de abril por qué la ciencia no ha buscado las formas de crear especies por medio de mecanismos genéticos al estilo de Jurassic Park. "Genéticamente no serían auténticos dinosaurios, pero qué importa. Unos 15 años de crianza e ingeniería nos darán exóticas especies inéditas", escribió en la red social.

Poco tiempo después afirmó que la "desextinción" de las especies podría ser un elemento valioso para incrementar la biodiversidad en el planeta, lo cual interpretó como un elemento de suma relevancia para el momento que vive la naturaleza.

"La biodiversidad (antifragilidad) definitivamente es valiosa; la conservación es importante y tiene sentido. Pero ¿por qué detenerse ahí? ¿Por qué no tratamos de generar una nueva diversidad de forma intencional?", tuiteó Hodak.

Sin embargo, especialistas criticaron esta postura, pues el hecho de devolver a especies extintas marcaría un problema tanto para ellas, como para sus ecosistemas y las demás especies que viven en ellos.

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¿Quién es Max Hodak, el socio de Elon Musk que renunció a Neuralink?

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Infórmate en menos de cinco minutos de lo más importante del día. Durante su periodo en la empresa de neurotecnología, Hodak fue parte de diferentes polémicas, a causa de sus interesantes proyectos para crear interfaces cerebro-máquina.

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What are the pros and cons of Neuralink?

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What are the pros and cons of Neuralink?

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Main idea:

Neuralink improves life for people with neurological disorders and makes life more enjoyable.

Arguments / Facts :

-Working to reduce neurological disorders such as paralysis, blindness, hearing loss, memory loss, depression, and insomnia ...

-Expected that you can learn any skill, like piano, guitar… And listen to music just by thinking of one.

Dialogue:

This is an exciting idea, but can you learn the skills you want or only some specific ones, and can you learn unlimited skills?

Summary:

Elon Musk is experimenting with Neuralink and expects to be able to reduce neurological disorders, and with that chip, he already was able to cure depression. The most exciting expectation that he has is that you can learn any skill and listen to music just by thinking of one.

Koushik Sai, 2021, What is Neuralink Technology, Retrieved from:

https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-pros-and-cons-of-Neuralink

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Main idea:
Neuralink won't cure psychiatric brain disorders

Arguments /facts:
- It won't cure psychiatiric brain disorders like addiction, depression...
- Paralyzed people may be able to walk again
- Blind people will be able to see again

Dialogue:
Some people (paralyzed people, blind people...) may need this but people with psychiatric brain disorders won't need this because it will not be able to help them.

Summary:
Neuralink will not be able to cure psychiatric brain disorders like depression, addiction and more. That means that Neuralink won't do anything against this. Neuroscientists don’t yet have that level of understanding for many brain functions and disorders so that means they they may not be sure about what they are doing to our brain with this experiment.

McMurray, Calli (2021, January 22) What’s going on with neuralink? Retrieved from: https://www.brainfacts.org/in-the-lab/tools-and-techniques/2021/whats-going-on-with-neuralink-012221

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Elon Musk claims his new brain-recording device can one day solve a slew of brain ailments — are his claims true?

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Main idea:
Neuralink is basically inserting a chip in your brain controlling it and leaving you without privacy.

Arguments /facts:
- Potential for abuse and misuse.
- Invasion of privacy.
- Unintended negative consequences of BCIs, such as addiction, anxiety, or depression.
- Difficulty in removing or repairing BCIs if they malfunction.
- Increased risk of brain injury or infection.
- High cost of BCI technology.
- Limited research on the long-term effects of BCIs.
- It doesn’t cure psychiatric disorders like depression and addiction.
- Debilitating, blindness and mobility problems to people

Dialogue:
Can it cure depression? Can you control your dreams?

Summary:
Neuralink is a chip that is inserted in your brain invading your privacy. This chip can infect or injure your brain and if you want to take it off it is really hard because it is in the brain inside the skull. It is very expensive and doesn't cure psychiatric disorders like depression and addiction. Some consequences that Neuralink can create like, debilitating, blindness and mobility problems to people, can cause sometimes traumas after trying.

Ranjan, Patrik (2022, February 10) Neuralink Pros and Cons. Retrieved from: https://scifilogic.com/neuralink-pros-and-cons/

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Elon Musk’s new goal is Neuralink. Neuralink is a brain computer interface, and its initial goal was to restore the ability to do things for people who were

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Main idea:

Neuralink improves the quality of life for people with disabilities and enchances creativity

Arguments / facts:

1. Humans and ai get to communicate

2. People with disabilities would have a better life

3. Easier learning and remembering

4. Enhances creativity and problem solving ability

5. Instant connection with internet

6. Ability to control your brain

7. It will cure Parkinson and epilepsia

Dialogue:
It has a lot of cool advantages. But im curious if it has a lot of cons.

Summary:

Neuralink has pretty much pros. But of course there will be also cons. Neuralink will improve the quality of our daily life, cure deaseses, encance problem solving abiity. But we also need to take into account that it may have some disadvantages.

Ranjan, Patrik (2022, February 10) Neuralink Pros and Cons. Retrieved from: https://scifilogic.com/neuralink-pros-and-cons/

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Elon Musk’s new goal is Neuralink. Neuralink is a brain computer interface, and its initial goal was to restore the ability to do things for people who were

# data[].attributes.body
Main idea:
The monkey was implanted a neuralink and he was able to play mindpong with a joystick and when he did it good, he was given a sip of fruit smoothie.

Arguments /facts:
- He was able to play mindpong
- If a 9 year old monkey can do this, we don't know what we would be able to do
- They confirmed that the monkey died during this project of neuralink

Dialogue:
If this monkey died during this project we never know what could happen to us. This is a good idea but it's scary.

Summary:
Elon musk tried this experiment with a monkey and the monkey was able to play mindpong. He was given a sip of fruit smoothie everytime he did the correct move. During this project (Neuralink) this 9-year-old money died.

Neuralink. (2021, April 9) Monkey MindPong. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsCul1sp4hQ&t=3s

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Neuralink shows what happens when you bring “move fast and break things” to animal research

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Neuralink shows what happens when you bring “move fast and break things” to animal research

# data[].attributes.body
Main idea:
Neuralink caused many animals to die or even worse, making them suffer and after throwing them away like they were just a wasted toys.

Arguments/facts:
- Killed at least 1,500 animals
- They killed over 280 sheep, pigs, and monkeys, as well as mice and rats.
- Used an adhesive to fill open spaces in an animal’s skull, created from implanting the Neuralink device.

Dialogue:
- Why is Neuralink causing so many animals to die?
- Animals shouldn't be the one to be tested, no one does.
Summary:
Neuralink caused scientists to test and kill animals. They killed at least 1,500 animals, over 280 sheep, pigs, and monkeys, as well as mice and rats. They wouldn't care ablut the animal being tested, they care about the device if it can be able to be tested on humans and win more money.

Torrella, Kenny. (2022, December 11) Neuralink shows what happens when you bring “move fast and break things” to animal research. Retrieved from: https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2022/12/11/23500157/neuralink-animal-testing-elon-musk-usda-probe?__c=1

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This story is part of a group of stories called

Finding the best ways to do good.

Among the many grievances people harbor toward Elon Musk, add one more: alleged animal cruelty.

Neuralink, a startup co-founded by Musk in 2016, aims to develop a brain chip implant that it claims could one day help paralyzed people walk and blind people see. But to do that, the company has first been testing its technology on animals, killing some 1,500 since 2018 - and employee whistleblowers recently told Reuters the experiments are going horribly wrong.

Reuters reported this week that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Inspector General has opened a probe into potential violations of the Animal Welfare Act at Neuralink. It's a rare corrective for an agency that is generally hands-off when it comes to animal research.

Congressional Democrats are weighing in too. As reported by Reuters, US House Representatives Earl Blumenauer and Adam Schiff wrote in a draft letter to the USDA that they are "very concerned that this may be another example of high-profile cases of animal cruelty involving USDA-inspected facilities."

Questions around Neuralink's treatment of animals date back to 2017, when Neuralink conducted experiments on monkeys at the University of California Davis. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), a group that campaigns for alternatives to animal testing, obtained public records detailing the experiments. The findings were gruesome: One rhesus macaque monkey's nausea was "so severe that the animal vomited and had open sores in her esophagus before she was finally killed," according to Ryan Merkley, PCRM's director of research advocacy.

Surgeons used an unapproved adhesive to fill open spaces in an animal's skull, created from implanting the Neuralink device, "which then caused the animal to suffer greatly due to brain hemorrhaging," Merkley said.

He also pointed to "instances of animals suffering from chronic infections, like staph infections where the implant was in their head. There were animals pulling out their hair and self-mutilating, which are signs of really poor psychological health in laboratory animals and are very common in rhesus macaques" and other primates. (Disclosure: My partner worked at PCRM six years ago and was colleagues with Merkley.)

A few years later, Neuralink moved its experiments in-house. Current and former employees told Reuters that Musk put staff under immense pressure to speed up animal trials in order to begin human trials, telling them that they had to imagine a bomb was strapped to their head as motivation to work harder and faster. That may have contributed to botched experiments: Through documents and interviews with Neuralink staff, Reuters identified four experiments with 86 pigs and two monkeys that went awry due to employee mistakes. As a result, the experiments had to be repeated. "One employee," Reuters reported, "wrote an angry missive earlier this year to colleagues about the need to overhaul how the company organizes animal surgeries to prevent 'hack jobs.'"

The breakneck speed at Neuralink likely caused researchers to test and kill more animals than a slower, more conventional approach would call for. Since 2018, the company has tested on and killed at least 1,500 animals - over 280 sheep, pigs, and monkeys, as well as mice and rats.

"There's this incredible pressure by these Silicon Valley dudes who want their devices on the market, they want to push things forward, but they don't understand that these things take time," said Merkley. "That leads to - as we've seen - botched experiments and animals suffering."

Neuralink did not respond to an interview request for this story. UC Davis declined an interview request and pointed me to its media statement on the issue.

"The research protocols were thoroughly reviewed and approved by the campus's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)," one part of it reads. "When an incident occurred, it was reported to the IACUC, which mandated training and protocol changes as needed." The university also said it "follows all applicable laws and regulations," including those of the USDA and the National Institutes of Health.

In February, PCRM filed a complaint with the USDA alleging violations of the Animal Welfare Act stemming from the earlier Neuralink experiments at UC Davis. In March, the USDA posted inspection reports of both UC Davis and Neuralink facilities and found zero violations.But a federal prosecutor in the Northern District of California sent PCRM's complaint to the USDA Inspector General (OIG), a federal office charged with investigating and auditing USDA programs, which then opened a formal probe, according to Reuters.When contacted, the USDA OIG responded "USDA OIG can neither confirm or deny any investigation. "

That the USDA found no violations at UC Davis or Neuralink "just shows you how weak the Animal Welfare Act is, and even more so how weak the enforcement of that law is," Merkley said.

The USDA declined an interview request for this story but said in an emailed statement, "USDA takes its charge to enforce the AWA seriously, and works diligently every day to protect the welfare of regulated animals."

The "move fast and break things" ethos of Silicon Valley can be dangerous enough when a company is building a new social network, but the stakes are far higher when the life and death of hundreds or thousands of animals is in question, let alone the human patients whom Neuralink hopes will be the ultimate recipients of its technology. But it would be a mistake to think of Musk and Neuralink as a mere bad apple. Cruel animal experiments are taking place not just at private medical companies, but also at universities, commercial research facilities, and government agencies across the country - and regulators are lagging behind.

The Animal Welfare Act, explained

As federal laws go, the 1966 Animal Welfare Act may have one of the weirder and darker origin stories. Starting in the 1940s, the demand for animal experimentation by federally funded scientists exploded, to the point where stray dogs were seized from animal shelters to serve as test subjects, while even pet dogs would sometimes be snatched up and sold to experimenters. The most high-profile case involved Pepper, a 5-year-old Dalmatian in Pennsylvania who went missing in the summer of 1964 and turned up nine days later at a New York City hospital, where she was used in a medical experiment and then cremated. Pepper's fate - and a Life magazine exposé into dog experiments - caused an uproar. Two years later, Congress passed the Animal Welfare Act.

Despite its exhaustive-sounding name, the law excludes most animals kept in human captivity: the billions of animals we raise for food. It primarily covers the treatment and living conditions of companion animals bred in puppy mills, animals used for entertainment at zoos and circuses, and animals used in research for everything from vaccines to makeup. Even for these covered use cases, there are some big loopholes. Birds, reptiles, fish, and virtually all mice and rats - which make up the vast majority of animals used in vivisection - aren't protected by the law, nor are animals used in agricultural research.

The Animal Welfare Act also doesn't say much about what can and can't be done to animals in experiments. Rather, it sets minimum standards for basic conditions such as food, water, space, and lighting.

The law leaves much of how experiments are conducted to bodies called Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees, or IACUCs. Most research facilities - private or public - must set up an IACUC, which means the research is essentially self-governed. IACUCs are usually composed of employees, in the case of private companies like Neuralink, or faculty at universities.

IACUCs do have some checks and balances - they must have at least one external member, inspect facilities every six months, and follow some record-keeping requirements, like submitting annual reports to the USDA and conducting literature reviews to minimize duplicative research. They're also charged with minimizing pain in animals during procedures, among other requirements.

Those checks and balances still give scientists wide latitude to conduct research how they see fit, critics say, leading to many cruel and unnecessary experiments.

In 2014, the USDA's Office of the Inspector General said some IACUCs "did not adequately approve, monitor, or report on experimental procedures on animals."

One study that looked at a group of IACUCs found a 98 percent approval rate for experiment protocols, and other papers have found similarly high rates.

"There's a tremendous problem if these IACUCs are populated just with the colleagues of the same institution," said Thomas Hartung, a biochemist and the director of the Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing at Johns Hopkins University. "In Europe, there's a very different approach where there's a separation of these bodies that are linked to competent authorities, where conflicts of interest are much more avoided. In general, the bar is much higher to get these experiments accepted." He added that the more rigorous process leads to better science.

We don't know the full scope of animal experiments or what exactly happens to the tens of millions of animals estimated to go under the knife in the name of science and product development each year. The USDA inspects each facility at least once a year and publishes those inspections, but they're only a small snapshot of animal treatment. And labs accredited by AAALAC International, a private veterinary organization, benefit from only being subject to partial inspections. According to Science, 91 out of 322 facilities inspected during one period only received partial inspections.

It's not uncommon for testing labs to fight to prevent details of experiments from coming to light (PCRM has sued UC Davis to hand over photos from the experiments under California's public records law). But public records requests have exposed a number of disturbing experiments.

Wayne State University in Michigan has induced heart failure in dogs, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison deafened two cats with an antibiotic to study hearing implants, and the Department of Veterans Affairs implanted devices into cats' skulls to study sleep disorders (one employee said it gave them nightmares). Last year, Vice reported on the mental health crisis among those who kill animals for science.

A Harvard researcher recently drew condemnation after publishing work about separating mother monkeys from their newborns and replacing them with stuffed animals, and suturing baby monkeys' eyelids shut to study how they process faces.

There's also the more mundane but cruel everyday practices, like keeping social animals, including mice and rats, in captivity for weeks, months, or years on end. It's not uncommon for nonhuman primates to be caged alone, despite the USDA's acknowledgment, back in 1999, that "... primates are clearly social beings and social housing is the most appropriate way to promote normal social behavior and meet social needs." Routine toxicity tests required by the EPA force animals to inhale and ingest pesticides.

Even when Animal Welfare Act violations are found, researchers get off easy, according to Delcianna Winders, director of Vermont Law and Graduate School's animal law and policy institute. The USDA can impose severe penalties against other enterprises governed by the Animal Welfare Act, including criminal charges, confiscating animals, revoking or suspending licenses, or applying for injunctions. But for research facilities, these are generally off the table (there's a small caveat for confiscation). It's what Winders calls "animal experimentation exceptionalism."

Instead, violators might pay a settlement that's a fraction of the maximum penalty. The USDA "typically offers to settle for a civil penalty that is much lower than the maximum civil penalty authorized in the relevant statute," according to an agency FAQ. In a 2014 audit, the Office of Inspector General found that the USDA reduced penalties by an average of 86 percent from the AWA's authorized maximum penalty per violation.

The USDA has also excluded certain violations from public reports. For the past six years, the agency had a policy called "Teachable Moments," in which it refrained from including minor violations in public inspection reports (the policy ended this summer after years of pressure). Last year, the agency terminated a program that excluded some violations from public inspection reports if the research facility self-reported and corrected them.

In an emailed statement, the USDA said, "When inspectors identify items that are not in compliance with the federal standards, USDA Animal Care holds those facilities responsible for properly addressing and correcting those items within a set timeframe. If the noncompliance is not corrected, or if it is serious enough in nature, USDA pursues appropriate regulatory compliance and enforcement actions."

The moral math of animal testing

Animal testing is often justified using a kind of moral math: It's worth killing X number of animals if it leads to outcome Y, like helping paralyzed people walk or blind people see. But the problem is that we rarely know the number for X - it could take experimenting on one more animal, or millions more, for Neuralink to achieve its goal (even if Musk's true goal is to use brain-computer interfaces to merge humans with AI). The same goes for inventing important new medical devices, pharmaceutical drugs, and vaccines. And of course, achieving outcome Y is almost always uncertain.

But moral math is hard to do if you're missing half the equation. We have no idea how many animals are experimented on because federal agencies don't keep a comprehensive tally. In fiscal year 2018, the USDA reported that 780,070 AWA-covered animals were used in experiments, with an additional 122,717 held in facilities but not used for research. But that number excludes birds, reptiles, and fish, as well as rats and mice, who make up the vast majority of animals used in experiments - over 99 percent according to veterinarian Larry Carbone, who estimates the US experiments on 111.5 million rats and mice per year (though some critics say this estimate is flawed).

Animal testing has led to scientific breakthroughs we all benefit from, but it's also costly and slow, and it often fails - according to the NIH, 95 percent of pharmaceutical drugs that work in animal trials fail in human trials. But just how much humans benefit from animal experimentation is hard to parse: A 2018 meta-analysis from UK researchers looked at 212 studies from 1967 to 2005, involving over 27,000 animals, and concluded that most studies were poorly designed and didn't meaningfully advance scientific knowledge. Only 3 percent of the studies mentioned pain relief for animals. Some in the science community wonder why we're betting so much of the future of medicine on mice and rats.

Public opinion is changing on the issue, with the percentage of Americans who support medical animal testing dropping from 65 percent in 2001 to 51 percent in 2017. There's also a growing chorus of voices - not just activists and law professors, but also drug developers, researchers, veterinarians, and entrepreneurs - arguing that a new suite of high-tech, non-animal alternative methods could lead to faster, safer, and more ethical drug development and product testing.

"There has been, over the last 40 years, an enormous change," said Hartung. "Alternative methods are as good or better than animals in many areas."

Musk has always viewed himself as a change agent, a disruptor, and Neuralink is part of that. But in allegedly mistreating animals in research, his company is all too conventional.

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Neuralink shows what happens when you bring "move fast and break things" to animal research

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Finding the best ways to do good. Among the many grievances people harbor toward Elon Musk, add one more: alleged animal cruelty. Neuralink, a startup co-founded by Musk in 2016, aims to develop a brain chip implant that it claims could one day help paralyzed people walk and blind people see.

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Main idea:

Neuralink could potentially affect our relationships in several ways.

Arguments / Facts:

-If someone has lost the ability to talk, and express themselves, neuralink is the key to bringing our loved ones back to us.

-Musk's technology might bring back our loved ones who we have lost through brain impairment but are physically still there.

-For the people who lose their loved ones to Alzheimer's, tragic brain injuries, or even advanced cancers that damage the brain, this technology could bring back the lost people.

Dialogue:

I wonder if neuralink chip will change the way we communicate with each other.

Summary:

Neuralink could potentially affect our relationships in several ways. And in the future could bring back to us our loved ones lost thought brain impairament.

Hamilton Ernest (2020, December 8). The Future of Neuralink: Does it Affect Our Private Lives? Retrieved from: https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/28562/20201208/the-future-of-neuralink-does-it-affect-our-private-lives.htm

# data[].attributes.body
Main Idea:

There are possibilities that Neuralink could link to disastrous consequences, similar to the science-fiction tv show ''Black Mirror''.

Arguments / Facts:

-Elon's chip could lead to privacy and security complaints that people could control somebodies thoughts and emotions ( Neuralink chip hack ).

-The fear that this device could lead to the development of a new form of slavery, where people are controlled or manipulated through their devices.

Dialogue:

There are possibilities that Neuralink could link to disastrous consequences, similar to the science-fiction tv show ''Black Mirror''. This idea is supported by arguments and facts.

Alonzo Isaiah, 2021, Neuralink's Dangers and Possible Adverse Effects May Lead to A Devastating Black Mirror Episode—Tech Dangers Level Advantages! Retrieved from:

https://www.techtimes.com/articles/252714/20200921/watch-neuralinks-dangers-possible-adverse-effects-lead-devastating-black-mirror.htm