A neurotech company has shared with the public a video of a monkey playing an arcade video game. How do you like that, Elon Musk? In this case, Musk commended the experiment, since it was conducted by his own company, Neuralink.
A primate named Pager can play arcade games using the mind power. This has been achieved thanks to a wireless chip embedded in his brain. The process itself can be seen in the official video posted on the Neuralink YouTube channel.
The company mentions that the path to mastering the game by a monkey was not that long. The chip was implemented six weeks before the video you just watched was filmed.
At first, nine-year-old Pager learned to control his racket with a joystick, receiving a banana smoothie for his small successes. Meanwhile, the implanted chip read and analyzed his brain activity to predict the possible macaque actions in the future. And so it happened! By disabling the joystick, the monkey was able to control the racket solely with the power of his mind.
Why do they do it?
This is neither the usual whim of the rich nor an attempt to create a nice playmate represented by the macaque. According to Elon Musk himself, this discovery will help people with paralysis to use a phone or computer along with others. Also, the billionaire notes that people with disabilities will be able to control a smartphone with the power of thought much faster than if they did it with their fingers.
Even if it succeeds in achieving the above, the company is not going to stop. Elon Musk believes that by improving the product, it can be used in medicine, too. Thus, the chip can act as a shunt between the neural connections of the brain and body, helping to get rid of paralysis.
