Elon Musk has reportedly launched a new company whose entire mission is focusing on creating technology that can link human brains with computers.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that the new business is called Neuralink. The company was developing “neural lace” technology would allow for people to communicate with machines without touching a computer. The company was registered as a medical-research company last summer in California.
What is Neural lace?
Neural lace was first coined by science fiction author Iain M. Banks. The idea is relatively simple: a device that allows people to interact with machines just by using their brains. How does it work? Currently, people envision a mesh that surrounds your brain and is a wireless brain-computer platform. But, it is also believed that the mesh can be programmed to release certain chemicals that allow for people to have a change of thought.
Recent neural lace research
Two years ago, scientists who focus on nanotechnology published a paper in Nature Nanotechnology. The device was an ultra-thin mesh that can merge into the brain and create an interface that connects a machine with biology. The device was called “mesh electronics,” and the device is so thin it can be injected with a needle. Researchers have tested the device on mice and these test subjects survived the mesh electronic implantation. Researchers argue that the injectable brain mesh can cure brain disorders such as Parkinson’s and even enhance the human brain.
The future of neural lace
It is important to note that this is not the first time Musk discussed neural lace technology. During the 2016 Vox Media’s Code Conference in 2016, Musk said the technology would allow humans connect with machines.
“The solution that seems maybe the best is to have an AI layer,” Musk said at the Vox Code Conference. “A third, digital layer that could work symbiotically.”
But, Musk is not alone. Facebook is working on developing similar technology through a secretive hardware division called Building 8. The group is reportedly developing a noninvasive brain to computer technology that would allow people to communicate without a physical interface.