Neuralink: authorized to test brain implants on humans

(ANSA) - WASHINGTON, MAY 25 - Neuralink has announced that it has obtained approval from US regulators to test its brain implants in people. Elon Musk's start-up said the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) authorization for its first human clinical trial is "an important first step" for its technology, which aims to allow brains to interface directly with computers.
"This is an important first step that will one day allow our technology to help many people," the Californian company explained on its Twitter account, adding that "recruitment for clinical trials is not yet open". Neuralink designs connected devices to implant in the brain to communicate with computers directly through thought. They should be used in the first instance to help people who are paralyzed or suffering from neurological diseases. The start-up therefore wants to make these implants safe and reliable enough to be elective surgeries. People could then pay a few thousand dollars to equip their brains with the power of the computer. For Elon Musk, these chips must allow humanity to achieve a "symbiosis with AI", in his 2020 words pronounced at the company's annual conference. "We are now confident that the Neuralink device is ready for humans, so the timing depends on the FDA approval process," he said in late November on Twitter a month after the purchase of the social network. The billionaire is used to risky predictions, as it was for the autonomy of Tesla electric cars. In July 2019, it estimated that Neuralink could perform its first tests on people in 2020. So far, coin-sized prototypes have been implanted in animal skulls. Several monkeys are thus able to "play" video games or "type" words on a screen simply by following the movement of the cursor with their eyes. (ANSA).