Elon Musk predicted a future the place a human with a chip-enhanced mind can defeat knowledgeable video-game participant will not be far off.
In an episode of Lex Fridman’s podcast that was posted on Friday, Musk pointed to his Neuralink start-up, which implanted a chip into somebody’s mind earlier this 12 months.
“We feel pretty confident that in the next year or two, someone with a Neuralink implant would be able to outperform a pro gamer because the reaction time would be faster,” he stated.
In March, Neuralink stated the primary human to have a chip implanted in his mind is a quadriplegic, who gained the flexibility to play video video games utilizing his thoughts.
Trying even additional into the long run, Musk stated Friday that the long-term objective of Neuralink is to enhance AI-human symbiosis by growing an individual’s capability to speak at excessive quantity.
With out such an enhancement, AI will get “bored” ready for folks to speak at just a few bits per second whereas AI can do it at terabits per second, he defined, including “It’s like talking to a tree.”
However he confused that Neuralink’s first order of enterprise is to handle broken neurons within the spinal twine, neck or mind, like the corporate’s first sufferers.
“We’re just starting with the basics here, the simple stuff, relatively speaking is solving neuron damage,” Musk stated.
However as soon as the dangers of getting Neuralink mind implants are confirmed to be low, after 1000’s of individuals have been utilizing them for years, then maybe the corporate may purpose for “augmentation” of individuals with out neurological points, he added.
In actual fact, Neuralink already plans to enhance folks with neuron harm, giving them a “communication data rate” that exceeds what people usually have.
“While we’re in there, why not? Let’s give people superpowers,” Musk stated.
Equally, Neuralink may enhance human imaginative and prescient, ultimately constructing on its Blindsight product for restoring sight. At first, it might present low-resolution photographs, however over time the decision may very well be greater than what people have right this moment, with the product even enabling imaginative and prescient in numerous components of the spectrum like ultraviolet or infrared, he defined.
In February, Musk claimed progress on Neuralink’s first affected person and final month stated his start-up had plans to implant a chip in a second affected person. On Friday, he instructed Fridman the second implant has occurred and was “so far so good.”
Representatives for Neuralink didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Roughly the dimensions of 1 / 4, Neuralink’s N1 brain-computer interface is designed to each report and transmit neural exercise with the assistance of over 1,000 electrodes distributed throughout dozens of various filaments, every thinner than a human hair.
