Despite its success in animal trials, the brain chip startup led by billionaire Elon Musk is preparing to take it to humans. “Neuralink, the company Musk co-founded in 2016, promises that the technology will make it possible for someone with paralysis to operate a smartphone with their mind rather than their hands”, Musk said.
A Silicon Valley company that has already successfully implanted artificial intelligence microchips into the brains of a macaque monkey named Pager and a pig named Gertrude is now seeking to hire a “clinical trial director” to conduct human trials. Clinical trial director jobs at Neuralink offer a chance to work with leading engineers and doctors as well as with Neuralink’s first clinical trial participants, according to an advertisement for the position in Fremont, California. As a leader and team builder, you will facilitate Neuralink’s clinical research activities and develop regulatory interactions that come with a fast-paced, ever-changing environment.”
Among the world’s wealthiest people is Musk, with an estimated fortune of $256 billion, who believes the implants will help paralyzed people to walk. He told the Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council summit, “We hope to have this in humans first next year, and it will be for people with severe spinal cord injuries, like people who are paraplegics and quadriplegics.”
“I believe that Neuralink could be used to restore full function to someone who has suffered a spinal cord injury. Currently, NeuroLink is working well on monkeys, and we’re trying to make sure it’s as safe and reliable as it can be. Neuralink removal is safe”. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has overpromised about its speed of development in the past. As early as 2019, he predicted the implant would be placed in a human skull by 2020. According to Musk, the device will be “installed flush with the skull & charge wirelessly, so that you look and feel completely natural”. According to him the technology is similar to “replacing neurons with circuits” when they are faulty or missing.
Neuralink could be used to restore full function to someone who has suffered a spinal cord injury
Elon Musk
Neurolink has previously released a video of a monkey that played Pong only with the power of its mind after being implanted with a chip. Alphabet, the parent company of Google, is among the company’s investors, and it is also looking for a “clinical trial coordinator” to build a team and cooperate with regulators.
Candidates are told they have “the opportunity to impact the world and work with the best and the brightest experts.”
