In the interview, when Mark Penn inquired about “brain-to-technology communication,” Elon Musk shared, “We now have three humans with Neuralinks implanted, and they’re functioning well. We’ve upgraded the devices to include more electrodes, offering higher bandwidth, longer battery life, and improved features. So, expect 20 to 30 more patients this year with the enhanced Neuralink devices.”
Musk elaborated on Neuralink’s future goals, saying, “With our first product, we aim to help people who have lost their brain-body connection. For example, those who are tetraplegic, paraplegic, or like Stephen Hawking, who could communicate at or even faster than normal human speeds. We want to read the motor cortex of the brain, allowing a person to control a computer or phone just by thinking—like moving a cursor by thinking about moving their hand.”
He continued, “Next, we aim to develop Blindsight devices, which would allow people who’ve lost their sight or optic nerve to see again by interfacing directly with the visual cortex. We already have this working in monkeys.”
Musk also mentioned that Neuralink could potentially help those with spinal injuries. “If you have a second Neuralink device placed beyond the spinal damage, it could transmit signals past the injury, allowing someone to walk again. I’m confident this is physically possible.” He concluded by stating that the long-term goal of Neuralink is to improve bandwidth. “Right now, the bandwidth when we’re speaking is quite low, and the sustained bandwidth of the human brain is less than one bit per second over 24 hours,” he explained.