Elon Musk, the tech whiz who owns Neuralink, estimated that the number of individuals who will be able to have his chips inserted within the next 20 years would be “hundreds of millions.” Neuralink made the announcement in 2024 that it had successfully installed its first medical implants in patients.
According to a post that Musk made on X, “If everything goes according to plan, there will be hundreds of people with Neuralinks within a few years, possibly tens of thousands within five years, and millions within ten years.”
One year later, we inquire as to whether or not his forecast has begun to materialize into reality.
The development of artificial intelligence (AI) and the desire of humans to stay up with it, according to Musk, is what gives rise to the necessity for chip implants.
In January of 2024, neurosurgeons implanted a Neuralink chip into various regions of the brain tissue of patient Noland Arbaugh, a man who had been rendered paralyzed below his shoulders as a result of an accident that occurred for driving purposes.
Elon Musk: Hundreds of millions of people could have Neuralinks in the future.
— ELON CLIPS (@ElonClipsX) January 12, 2025
Lex Fridman: “Do you think there will be a world in the next couple of decades where hundreds of millions of people have Neuralinks?”
Elon: “Yeah, I do. If it's extremely safe, and you can have… pic.twitter.com/PN7suBzMpn
A total of 64 flexible threads, each of which was thinner than a human hair, were housed within the chip, which was about the size of a coin.
Arbaugh did not make a single move while his demonstration was being live-streamed. He played chess and other internet games without making any movements. His explanation was that the experience was similar to the “Force powers” that are seen in Star Wars.
Approximately one month later, Arbaugh’s ability began to deteriorate; however, Neuralink was able to restore his capabilities after making some adjustments to their particular algorithm.
Neuralink made the announcement in a blog post that the second patient to receive their chip, referred to as “Alex,” is successfully utilizing computer-aided design (CAD) software to create three-dimensional objects and to actively participate in video games.
Why Neuralink is the most important company this decade!@neuralink is delivering life-changing value to humanity and is at an inflection point as goes from being a technology in the lab to people’s homes this year.
— Apoorv Agrawal (@apoorv03) December 12, 2024
As an investor, we look for transformative innovations — where… pic.twitter.com/P4evc45t5V
The blog article noted that in order to lessen the likelihood of thread retraction occurring in our second participant, we employed a variety of preventative measures. These measures included minimizing the amount of brain motion that occurred during the surgical procedure and decreasing the distance that separated the implant from the surface of the brain.
The provision of a high-performance interface that will improve the control of digital devices for people with quadriplegia in order to assist in the restoration of their autonomy is a significant step forward, and this marks yet another significant improvement.
According to a statement released by the company, “We hope that in time, the Link will assist a great number of people in creating in their areas of interest and expertise, and we are excited to work with more people to assist them in helping them reconnect with their passions.”
Update about the second Neuralink device in a human.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 22, 2024
If all goes well, there will be hundreds of people with Neuralinks within a few years, maybe tens of thousands within 5 years, millions within 10 years, … https://t.co/opy1xj5JgF
Within the next two years, Elon Musk predicts that the beneficiaries of the chips will exceed professional gamers and will speed up human brains more than they currently are.
Musk suggested a connection between computers and plants when he stated, “Our slow output rate would diminish the link between humans and computers by a significant amount.” Assume for a moment that you are looking at this plant or whatever it is, and you think to yourself, “Hey, I really want to make that plant happy, but it’s not saying a lot.”
In the near future, Musk’s plans are largely focused on improving the rates at which brain data is transmitted. According to Musk, “the low data rate of humans, especially our slow output rate, would diminish the link between humans and computers.” Musk went on to propose that the speed of brain signals be increased “by three, maybe six, or more orders of magnitude.”
