Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has announced a new venture prognosticate Neuralink , a startup which take to develop neural interface technologies that connect our brains to computers . Musk tell it ’s the best way to prevent an AI apocalypse , but it ’s on this point that he ’s severely mistaken .
Asreportedin The Wall Street Journal , the inauguration is still very much in its embryologic stage . The company , registered as a “ aesculapian research ” firm , is seeking to quest after what Musk calls “ neural lacing ” technologies , which presumptively ask the implanting of tiny electrode in the brain to create a link with a computing machine . The resulting “ direct cortical interface ” could be used to upload or download intellection to a electronic computer , blur the bound between human and machine . Eventually , nous buffalo chip could be used to supplement and supercharge cognitive capacitance , resulting in increased intelligence and memory . It ’s super - futuristic hooey , to be certain — but not outside the realm of possibility .
According to the WSJ , Musk is funding the startup and taking an active leadership theatrical role within the company . Several lead academic in the subject have reportedly signed up to put to work at the firm , and Musk has apparently reached out to Founders Fund , an investiture firm started by PayPal co - father Peter Thiel . The Neuralink website presently consists of a logotype on a single pageboy , with an email destination for those seeking employment . Late yesterday , Musk confirmed the existence of the startup via a tweet , adding that more details will come out next week viaWaitBuyWhy , a site that impart matter with simplistic stick figures .
Long Neuralink piece coming out on@waitbutwhyin about a week . Difficult to dedicate the time , but existential risk is too high not to .
— Elon Musk ( @elonmusk)March 28 , 2017
Neuralink now joins Tesla , SpaceX and other highly ambitious , futurist - sounding venture spawned by Musk . It ’s too early to tell if he ’ll be capable to achieve his lofty goals through Neuralink , but given Musk ’s dedication to his other projects , it ’s safe to say he ’ll give it the royal endeavour . ab initio , Neurolink will probably arise applied science to treat brain disorders such as epilepsy , depression , and Parkinson ’s , but it could then move to develop applied science specific to neural interfacing and cognitive sweetening . Musk is not alone in this emerging field , and he will have to vie against Kernel , a $ 100 million startup ground by Braintree founder Bryan Johnson , and Facebook , which recentlyposted jobsfor “ learning ability - data processor interface engineers . ” Government research arms like DARPA are also lick todevelop brain - implantable chipsto treat genial illness and neurologic disorders .
gain money is certainly a motivating ingredient for Musk , but if his intentions are to be believed , he ’s also doing this to prevent humanity from a possible game - ending catastrophe . AsStephen Hawkingandmany otherssee it , great - than - human unreal intelligence , also known asartificial superintelligence(ASI ) , represents anexistential risk . These thinker consider that either through error , indifference , or calculated intent , an ASI could eliminate our entire civilization . As Musk apparently envision it , a possible prescription to this problem is to raise humans alongside AI to ensure that we ’re capable to counter any threat before they emerge , and to keep up with AI if we ’re to avoid being subjugated or destroyed . As Muskwarnedat a league last year , “ If you adopt any rate of advancement in [ stilted intelligence activity ] , we will be left behind by a lot . ”
Interestingly , march on in neuronic interfacing and cognitive sweetening could march on faster than unreal intelligence . The reasonableness is that we already have a decent running fashion model to fiddle with : the human brain . AI researcher , on the other helping hand , are trying to build brains from scratch . In the movement to make outstanding - than - human levels of intelligence , the race could very well be won by those seeking to improve pre - existent human brains , a mental process known asradically amplified human intelligence .
https://gizmodo.com/humans-with-amplified-intelligence-could-be-more-powerf-509309984
This all sounds all right and well in theory , but it may all testify easier said than done . Musk ’s team , or whichever firm sets down this path , will have to rule a way to safely and effectively implant these chips . They ’ll also have to find volunteers who are willing to undergo invasive brain surgeries , and who are comfortable with chips permanently attached to their brain . Before we even get to this stage , however , this initial burden will likely fall upon animals , which give the threshold to some potentially frightening and ethically - fraught scenario , including cognitively enhanced , oruplifted , animals .
The research worker will also have to ensure that people who undergo these genius - augmenting procedures will still be psychologically static and capable of functioning in the real world . A moderate sweetening could leave in a very Einsteinian - like personality , but hike a somebody ’s brain thousands or gazillion of times will assuredly result in something bearing no semblance to a human being . This so - call posthuman might relate to us the same way we relate to bacteria . An enhanced human could also be entirely insane .
And herein lie the rub : By creating enhanced humans to counter ASI ( an ethically problematic idea unto itself , as humans can not be treated as a means to an end ) , we ’re fundamentally produce the precise job we ’re endeavor to puzzle out . There ’s no warranty that a radically cognitively - enhance human will be safe , containable , or have goal and motivations compatible with human stake . These posthumans may descend up with their own goals , or break - off into ego - interested groups , each with its own schedule . Rivalries and technological arms races could emerge at levels enceinte than ever before .
There ’s no head that ASI is a serious problem in the devising , andwe should most for certain be thinking about ways to palliate this still - suppositional threat . gratefully , there are many other idea out there that do n’t involve the creation of yet more tiptop - advanced entities , such as limiting the ability of AI to qualify itself beyond sure bounds , orcreating “ friendly ” AIincapable of harming humans .
For now , these sort of speculations may be previous . Musk , like his rivals , still need to get his venture up - and - running , and prove the feasibility of his business plans . Musk may be the king of promotional material , but given the slow pace of development at SpaceX and Tesla , it could be a while before this forward - looking enterpriser sees any recurrence with Neuralink .
[ Wall Street Journal ]
Elon MuskFuturismNeuralinkScienceTechnology
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