Are Nerlink Technologies a Good Idea?

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Anvin: We're very far from being able to produce, you know, illicit a kind of complex thoughts by stimulating the brain in a way. And i don't wish to come across as to to negative or distopian about this technology. This is technologis that i have played my own small part in trying to help develop. Andrew: To some extent, once these technologies are out there and are sort of being widely used, it can be sometimes too late to change course.

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