Elon Musk , the Internet ’s preferent rich guy , hasbroken his silenceon the latest exploitation   of Neuralink , the neurotechnology startup hoping to create an interface between humans and computers .

Speaking at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco on Tuesday evening , Musk bring out they have tested out an implant that countenance a scamp to control a computer with its brain . They have also approached US regulators to incur favorable reception for trial of the gadget on humankind .

“ This is a sore subject , but we definitely require to speak the elephant in the elbow room , the monkey in the room , ” Musk order to the gang during the talk ’s Q&A school term .

“ A monkey has been able-bodied to control the computer with his brain . Just , y’know , FYI . ”

As Musk explains , humans already interface with digital organization when we use a smartphone or laptop . However , the input is reach through   the tapping of our fingers and thumbs , mean the flow of info is relatively slow . This implant hope to create a almost - instant user interface between a digital system and the mental capacity , to the extent where the figurer becomes a   unlined extension of our own noesis .

A alive stream of the   Neuralink talk , which start at 1:30:00 . Neuralink / YouTube

The gimmick consists of a flyspeck investigation of ultrathin flexible threads , thinner than a human tomentum , which can detect the body process of neurons and effectively “ take ” the psyche , albeit a very diminutive part of it .

They have even developed a robot that is able to imbed the machine into animal , primarily stinker , under the supervising of a neurosurgeon . According to awhite paperabout the project , which has not been independently match - retrospect , at least 19 surgeries on rodents have been carry out by the robot with an 87 percent success charge per unit .

It certainly all vocalise very exciting , but there are still countless hurdles and problem to overtake before this becomes a reality . Neuralink executives toldThe New York Timesthey know they have a “ recollective way to go ” before the projection has actual hard-nosed uses .

Eventually , Neuralink hopes to be used to handle an array of brain injuries and disease , let in everything from paralysis to Alzheimer ’s .

In the recollective terminal figure , it also hopes to ward off the “ existential threat of AI , ” in the run-in of Musk . The possibility plump that a unseamed human - computer port would give human beings the option of buddying up with AI , as defend to becoming its radically substandard beguilement .

" Ultimately , we could do a full genius - automobile port , meaning   – [ sic ] this is going to sound somewhat weird but   – we can reach a variety of symbiosis with unreal intelligence , ” Musk told the crowd at the consequence .

“ I cerebrate this is going to be important at a culture - wide musical scale , ” he added . “ Even under a benign AI , we will be left behind . With a high bandwidth brain - machine interface , we will have the choice to go along for the ride . ”