WHAT COULD GO WRONG?

Musk’s Neuralink Searching for Humans to Test Brain Implant

Experts have raised alarms about the technology and Musk’s motives.

Neuralink—the brain implant company started by Elon Musk—is on the hunt for paralyzed patients it can use in human trials for the device, which has been greeted with skepticism and criticism by some scientific experts. The Guardian reports the startup—which has tested the implant on mice and pigs—was given the green light by an independent review board to experiment on human in a six-year study. The implant theoretically would allow quadriplegics or ALS patients to operate computers using just their thoughts. When questioned by The Guardian, Neuralink “did not respond immediately to queries about when and where the trial will be conducted, or how many participants it will involve,” it said. The Food and Drug Administration denied a fast-track request by the company last year but approved a Neuralink device, called an investigational device exemption (IDE), in May.