Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

SoylentNews is powered by your submissions, so send in your scoop. Only 17 submissions in the queue.

Elon Musk to Show Off Working Brain-Hacking Device

posted by Fnord666 on Friday August 28 2020, @09:32PM   Printer-friendly
from the presumably-not-an-axe dept.

Phoenix666 writes:

Elon Musk to show off working brain-hacking device:

Elon Musk is due to demonstrate a working brain-to-machine interface as part of his ambitious plans to give people superhuman powers.

His brain-hacking company, Neuralink, applied to start human trials last year.

But Friday's demonstration will involve a robot and "neurons firing in real time", a series of tweets reveals.

The interface could allow people with neurological conditions to control phones or computers with their mind.

But the long-term ambition is to usher in an age of what Mr Musk calls "superhuman cognition".

People need to merge with artificial intelligence, he says, in part to avoid a scenario where AI becomes so powerful it destroys the human race.

[...] The device the company is developing consists of a tiny probe containing more than 3,000 electrodes attached to flexible threads thinner than a human hair, which can monitor the activity of 1,000 brain neurons.

The company has been working with monkey brains to its realize brain/computer interface.

Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Elon Musk to Show Off Working Brain-Hacking Device | Log In/Create an Account | Top | 28 comments | Search Discussion
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.

  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by khallow on Saturday August 29 2020, @12:39AM

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Saturday August 29 2020, @12:39AM (#1043565) Journal

    As Lisa Simpson says, as intelligence goes up, happiness often goes down. Seriously, human brains are already too powerful for their own good. We're prone to dwelling on negative thoughts, being excessively self-critical and even having existential crises. Many animals seem to be able to move on from extremely stressful experiences almost instantly whereas humans will often be worrying about them for days.

    Well, you won't be worrying about happiness after an AI has wiped out humanity.

    Also how would we guarantee when merging the human with the AI that the human would be the one in control of the outcome rather than the AI? Or the enhanced human might cease to care about the fate of the human race and cause their destruction anyway.

    No such guarantee exists now for normal human reproduction. If you want to develop such guarantees in the future, you probably ought to greatly reduce your prioritization of happiness.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +3  
       Insightful=3, Total=3
    Extra 'Insightful' Modifier   0  
    Total Score:   4