SAN FRANCISCO — Is becoming cybernetically enhanced the next step in human evolution?<br /><br />According to Elon Musk, humanity is at risk of being left behind by the advancement of artificial intelligence, and claims the solution is to achieve symbiosis with it.<br /><br />To do this, his startup Neuralink has created a brain implant made up of a small, ultra-thin mesh thread that is laced with electrodes to detect neural activity.<br /><br />The threads are injected into the brain using a small robot developed by the company. Once inserted through tiny holes in the skull, the thread's electrodes relay brain activity to a small implant behind the ear.<br /><br />The implant connects wirelessly to a wearable device called the Link, which can be configured through an iPhone app.<br /><br />With some training, Neuralink senior scientist Philip Sabes, says users will be able to control their phone, and later redirect the output to control a keyboard or mouse.<br /><br />The Guardian reports that the company has so far only tested on animals, including recording a rat's brain activity and allowing a monkey to control a computer with its brain.<br /><br />Musk and his team say the tech is about ready to be tested on humans, but will have to first get approval from the FDA, and a few willing test subjects.
