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Elon musk's space x starlink satellites are expected to burn up instead of reaching their intended orbit. His other company, nerelink, has begun recruiting for a clinical trial director to run tests of their neural or brain, computer intor face, in humans. The ultimate dream is to one day help us all communicate telepathically. So what to make of all this? Is it overblown hype, or visionary work that could help thousands of people?

A few weeks ago, Elon Musk’s company Neuralink posted a job advert recruiting for a ‘clinical trial director’ to run tests of their brain-computer interface technology in humans. Neuralink’s initial aim is to implant chips in the brain that would allow people with severe spinal cord injuries to walk again. But, Musk himself has said that he believes this technology could one day be used to digitally store and replay memories. Madeleine Finlay speaks to Prof Andrew Jackson about how brain-computer interfaces actually work, where the technology is at the moment, and if in the future we could all end up communicating telepathically. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod