A new name in the list of new science experiments by the founder of revolutionary projects like Paypal, Space-X and Tesla Motors is – NeuraLink Technology, which is going to prove to be a milestone in the history of mankind.
You must have heard the name of Elon Musk. If there can be any sign of passion and offbeat experimentation, risk-taking, and eventual success, then that is Elon Musk. Whatever experiments Elon Musk has done in the field of science are well ahead of his time, his experiments surprised the world.
So let’s know what is this Neuralink technique and how it has the ability to change the power of the entire human race.
Neuralink Corporation
Neuralink Corp. is a startup company led by Elon Musk which was founded in the year 2017. The aim of this company is to invent such technology and its commercial use so that we can directly connect our minds to computers.
Humans typically provide input to interact with digital systems through their fingers, voice, or facial expressions that enter and process computers or systems. But this method of input is very slow and has many limitations. For example, for a disabled person, a blind or a deaf person, using a computer is not as easy as it is for a common man.
That’s why the Neuralink company is developing a device that will act as an interface between any digital system and the brain, using a new technology called Neuralink technology. So that just by thinking, that information will go directly into the computer, which will be used by the computer as an input to perform different tasks.
Is Neuralink a completely new technology?
It is not that the technique of connecting Neuralink i.e. brain directly to the computer has suddenly appeared one day. There is a long history of academic research behind it.
First, in 2006, Matthew Nagle, a victim of paralysis due to a spinal cord injury, played a ping pong game using only his brain with the help of one such technique. It took him only four days to learn to interact with the computer using only his brain. It was only then that scientists started an effort to develop brain-operated robotic organs for paralyzed people.
The device/interface used on Matthew Nagle is called BrainGate which was initially developed at Brown University. In the BrainGate technique, a series of solid needles consisting of 128 electrode channels are fitted into the human head. These 128 electrodes detect, record and transmit electrical signals in the brain and pass this information to computers outside the body.
But one problem in this technique is that due to having fewer electrodes, very little information can be received from the brain, which is not enough to perform complex tasks. Its second problem is that its solid needles can also damage the brain in long term use.
How does NeuraLink Technology work?
The device or interface being developed by Neuralink works on technology-based on “threads”, which will be implanted around those tissues without affecting the human brain tissue.
This device consists of 96 threads which can contain a total of 3,072 electrodes. These threads are made of polymer fiber, so they are very flexible and can remain attached to the brain for a long time without damaging the brain. The thickness of these threads is only 4 to 6 microns ie three times thinner than our hair.
But moving these flexible threads within the rigid sheath of the brain is also a problem, for which Neuralink Startup has also created a neurosurgical robot capable of inserting six such threads per minute into the human brain.
This neurosurgery robot is a mixture of a kind of computer and a sewing machine in itself. This robot will be able to identify specific parts of the brain and carry these threads to the brain without damaging any blood vessels.
In the Neuralink technique, each such thread has a group of 192 electrodes, which is attached to a small implantable device. It consists of custom wireless chips with a size of 4 × 4 millimeters. That is, once the thread is fitted with the brain, this chip can be fixed on the head.
But despite this much, this device will be able to record as much data from the brain, that will not be sufficient to perform any complex task. Therefore, this device will be combined with Artificial Intelligence (AI), which will make it worth it by enhancing less information so that even complex tasks can be done easily.
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What is the science behind the NeuraLink technique?
The neurons of our brain exchange information between each other through the synapse. At these connection points, neurons communicate with each other using chemical signals called neurotransmitters, which are released in response to an electrical spike called the “action potential”.
When a neuron receives enough of the right type of neurotransmitter input, a chain reaction begins in which the neurons pass messages to the synapses that cause the action potential.
These action potentials produce an electric field that can be detected by placing an electrode next to it and thereby recording the information generated by a neuron.
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What is the use of NeuraLink Technology?
Currently, the aim of this technique is to provide medical care, such as to provide such facility to the paralyzed people so that they can do their essential work only with the help of their brain or for the disabled people and make better robotic organs which are directly operated by their brain Would be Apart from this, it can also be used to correct vision, hearing or other sensory deficiencies.
But this use is still at the theoretical level, although some successful experiments have been done on rats and monkeys, its use on humans can start from the year 2020 itself. In fact, the company is hoping that it will be used on humans as early as next year, through possible collaboration with neurosurgeons from Stanford and other institutions.
That is, in the future, Neuralink can be used to treat brain injuries and many diseases, including everyone from paralysis to Alzheimer’s. And using this technique, we will also be able to make half human half machine ie Cyborg to be shown in future Hollywood films.
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What is the future of NeuraLink Technology?
For Elon Musk, Neuralink technology is a project far ahead of the present and potential future, which has immense potential. In the words of Musk, “In the long term, this technology will be used to remove our existential threat from AI (Artificial Intelligence)”.
Musk stated in a program that “after all, we can fully adjust the brain and the machine, which means that we can have a kind of coexistence with AI (Artificial Intelligence)”. According to Musk, “This will be an important dimension to human civilization because at the current intellectual level we will always lag behind AI, whereas with a high bandwidth brain-machine interface, we will have the option to compete with AI.” “
Simply put, Musk was probably pointing to the Hollywood film “The Matrix”, in which a computer program with AI (Artificial Intelligence) takes over the whole world and humans connect such a device in their brain to the brain Fight and win with that computer program at the level. That is, Neuralink technology is a technology enabling us to fight AI in the future.
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