Elon Musk ’s brain implant troupe Neuralink has been in more trouble with the federal government than previously known . A Reutersreportpublished Friday say that the U.S. Department of Transportation recently fined Neuralink for violating rules governing the movement of hazardous materials . The DOT has since settled the thing , however .
The violation was reportedly unearthed via a public records request of the DOT from the protagonism group Physicians Committee of Responsible Medicine ( PCRM ) , with the documents afterwards being shared with and see by Reuters . The PCRM has been a persistent critic of Neuralink over how the fellowship is attempting to make implantable brain - computer interfaces .
The group was the first to put out records documentinggruesome - voice experimentswith laboratory monkeys carried out by Neuralink in collaborationism with the University of California Davis . The reveal of these experiments , which allegedly led to some implanted imp spew and mar themselves , ensue in an investigation of the ship’s company by the U.S. Department of Agriculture ’s Office of the Inspector General , which appear to be still ongoing .
accord to Reuters , the DOT found that Neuralink betray to suitably register itself as a transporter of hazardous material . The federal agency also determined that company actor improperly packaged sealed hazardous waste material , specifically the chemical substance xylene , a colorless inflammable liquidness that can cause oculus and peel provocation or even neurological symptom in multitude with lumbering exposure . However , the available records do not disclose whether any bodily scathe get along from these usurpation or why the fellowship require to transport the textile in the first place ; they also failed to notice grounds that the company ship material that contain anything infectious .
Ultimately , the DOT only fined Neuralink a total of $ 2,480 for the infringement , an amount that was let down from the original expected fine after the companionship pledge to fix its practices , Reuters report . A representative with the DOT ’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration also substantiate with the media exit that the agency ’s investigation is now over .
“ Neuralink ’s intrusion once again unveil the company ’s sloppy , unsafe practices , ” Ryan Merkley , PCRM ’s director of enquiry protagonism , told Reuters .
Neuralink has fight to live up to Elon Musk ’s grandiose statements about the potential of its technology , with Musk claiming that the implants could someday do everything from helpingparaplegic the great unwashed walkto allowing users to seealternate realty . And as recently as this past November , lawmaker havepetitionedthe SEC to investigate Musk for fraud over his attempts to deny any monkey deaths touch to Neuralink ’s early experiments .
But as this latest reveal shows , Neuralink has manage to dodge major bother so far . And last May , itfinally obtainedFDA headroom for the first human visitation of its implant , which is supposedly go under to start this year .
Brain implantElon MuskMuskNeuralink
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