The future is now! This is one of the most insane things that I’ve ever seen in my life.

As you may be aware of already, Elon Musk has created what is called Neuralink, which is an implantable microchip that goes into the brain of the subject.

We first saw it introduced in a pig and now we’re seeing it in action with a monkey.

The monkey was provided a set-up in which he would play the video game “Pong” and move a joystick. As he successfully played, he would be rewarded with some sort of banana smoothie. Then the joystick was removed and he was able to move the joystick with just his mind in order to get some smoothie.

Take a look:

Theoretically, the same tech could be used to give people control of synthetic limbs via a Neuralink brain implant. In a tweet Thursday, Musk said the first Neuralink product would let people with paralysis control a smartphone.

Andrew Jackson, a neuroscience expert who is a professor at Newcastle University, told Insider that getting primates to control video games via neural interfaces was not new — comparable demonstrations were done in 2002 — but said it was a good test of the tech.

“If you invent a new telescope, it makes sense to first point it where you know what you will see,” he said. “So they are following a very sensible route to validate their device. I am sure this device will contribute to new scientific discoveries in future (especially if they make it widely available to scientists), as well as improving the usability of existing neural interface technologies for people with paralysis.”

Can you imagine the possibilities with this sort of technology? Imagine people with artificial limbs who can move their limbs by thinking about what it is like to move your hand or fingers.

People may be reluctant to get something like this done, but if anyone can do it in a safe manner, I think Elon Musk is the guy who can do it.

Sources:
Business Insider