The US Food and Drug Administration announced, on Twitter, that Elon Musk’s brain chip company Neuralink has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to begin human testing.
“We are excited to share that we have received FDA approval to launch our first human clinical study!” The company reported. “This is the result of the amazing work the Neuralink team has done in close collaboration with the US Food and Drug Administration and represents an important first step that will one day allow our technology to help many more people.”
Neuralink was founded in 2016 with the goal of helping people recover from brain and spinal cord injuries, treating depression and other mental health disorders, and connecting humans to the Internet for everything from music streaming to near-telepathic communication.
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At first, we’ll enable someone with almost no ability to operate their muscles…and enable them to operate their phone faster than anyone with working hands, Musk previously said, even announcing that the technology would be able to “restore someone’s entire body functions.” who has a severed spinal cord.”
Before it was allowed to begin human testing, Neuralink was experimenting with its brain chips on monkeys. The company showed test participants “playing” video games and moving computer cursors through their implants, though the experiments weren’t all euphoric: Last year, reports found that at least 15 of the 23 monkeys tested used the technology between 2017 and 2017. and 2020 died. Later, the company came under investigation for violating animal welfare regulations after employees alleged that Musk’s pressure to speed up development led to an increase in failed experiments — and deaths of monkeys.
We are excited to share that we have received FDA approval to launch our first human clinical study!
This is the result of the incredible work that the Neuralink team has done in close collaboration with the US Food and Drug Administration and represents an important first step that will one day allow us…
—Neuralink (neuralink) May 25, 2023
