Elon Musk is literally trying to mess with your mind. He has this secretive company called Neuralink. It has been working on a number of mind-numbing ventures. One of them he plans to demonstrate this Friday at 6 PM ET. Musk will demo a Neuralink brain-to-machine interface on Friday. It is an implantable “device” so you can control electronic devices with your mind. No, we’re not kidding. 

We’ve all been skeptical of Musk when he first floats his latest brain fart. First, it was mass-producing electric cars with 300-mile ranges. Then, it was something he called Space X. We’ve all seen what it has become. Now, it’s Neuralink. The goal is to supplement the human brain to allow it to keep up with artificial intelligence. 

Musk will unveil a second-generation robot that will attach Neuralink technology to the brain

To that end, Neuralink is working on this device “update.” For this, he will unveil a second-generation robot that will attach Neuralink technology to the brain. He will also show a demonstration of neurons “firing in real-time.” Your guess is as good as ours on that one. 

The idea of getting the brain to interface with machines is to implant flexible “threads” into the brain. These are thinner than a human hair at four to six µm. This way they are less likely to damage the brain. They will transfer data with 96 threads distributing 3,072 electrodes according to The Verge. 

Neuroscientists at Stanford University are conducting early experiments

Neuralink has also developed a machine to insert them into the brain. It could be a machine that uses a laser beam to get through the skull for the implants. Neuroscientists at Stanford University are conducting early experiments. Last year Musk said, “We hope to have this in a human patient by the end of next year.”

At the same time Musk also said, “A monkey has been able to control a computer with its brain.” If you think this is all science fiction, think again. “Neuralink didn’t come out of nowhere, there’s a long history of academic research here,” said Neuralink president Max Hodak. Matthew Nagle was the first person to receive a brain implant back in 2006. He was able to play the video game Pong using his mind. Paralyzed people with brain implants have moved robotic arms with their minds since then.

Neuralink created a machine, not unlike a sewing machine integrated with a microscope

Since the brain shifts around in the skull the threads have to be flexible. Neuralink makes those threads out of polymer. That makes them flexible, which also makes them harder to implant. So Neuralink created a machine, not unlike a sewing machine integrated with a microscope. 

While Musk sees advantages to interfacing with AI, many see the technology helping those paralyzed or with neurological disorders. While some question the ambitious timeframes Musk presents we’ll get some answers to that on Friday. Hopefully, a timeframe for clinical trials will be announced as well as the demonstrations. 

Though the announcement of Friday’s demo gives a time there is no word on the platform. If you’re interested in seeing the presentation it is best to monitor Neuralink’s YouTube channel for updates. If nothing else these Musk presentations can be very entertaining so we suggest you check it out.