Elon Musk has launched a new startup called Neuralink Corp. The medical research company will aim at developing ‘neural lace’ technology to match the human brain capacity to that of Artificial Intelligence.
The new project would make the third formal firm the billionaire manages, in addition to pushing forward the development of Hyperloop systems.
Neuralink has long been taunted by the entrepreneur in conferences and public appearances where he has talked about the impending necessity to step up our game if we don’t want to be displaced by artificial intelligence in the near future.
The Neural Lace could be the next step of Transhumanism
After proving he could develop an electric car that is both performance-wise and affordable, and launching a rocket to the International Space Station and back, Elon Musk wants to prepare humanity for the next big thing.
The Tesla CEO will reportedly take a high-profile leadership position in Neuralink, which was founded back in July last year according to inside sources. Musk will also fund the startup using his own money at first.
Like all of his other ventures, Neuralink will tackle a ‘moonshot’ realm in technology: human-machine interfaces on the brain. The billionaire has dubbed his vision of the tech as a ‘neural lace,’ which would use chips and implants to vastly enhance cognition capabilities.
However, in order to get there, the company must take a conservative initial approach. According to insider reports, the company will focus on researching and developing solutions for brain diseases like Alzheimer’s at first.
The endgame for Neuralink will be to create a “direct cortical interface,” as Musk has also dubbed it, to enhance human brains enough to match and compete with those of artificially intelligent beings.
Failing to do so, according to the head of SpaceX, will lead us to be eventually displaced in every area by machines. Although it may sound sort of apocalyptic, labor projections for the next decade estimate computers will take over a significant percentage of human workers’ jobs.
Neuralink already counts with a team of lead researchers and developers, and Musk’s former business partner Peter Thiel is reportedly on board with the idea to provide financial support through his Founders Fund investment firm.
Neuralink is not alone on this path
Kernel, a startup founded by Bryan Johnson and dedicated to looking to cure or diminish the effects of neurodegenerative diseases. A team of scientists from the University of Southern California is working on the firm.
Facebook might soon get on the transhumanism wagon as Marck Zuckerberg once said the future of social media would be form of telepathy.
Also, the United State’s government funneled $60 million into implantable neural interface research four years ago with DARPA leading the initiative. Their findings will, most certainly, be focused on military use.
Source: The Wall Street Journal