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Elon Musk to plant computers in human brains to prevent AI robot uprising

He's created a company that will explore 'neural lace' technology, according to a report

Aatif Sulleyman
Tuesday 28 March 2017 13:03 BST
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Neural lacing could eventually lead to us gaining the ability to upload and download our thoughts to computers
Neural lacing could eventually lead to us gaining the ability to upload and download our thoughts to computers (Reuters)

Elon Musk has launched a new “medical research” company called Neuralink, according to a new report.

The firm was registered in California last July, and will focus on developing “neural lace” technology, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Mr Musk tweeted that more information about Neuralink could emerge in April, but recent comments from the CEO of Tesla suggest that he’s aiming to create cyborgs.

The idea is that electronic devices embedded in the brain could improve human performance in certain areas, such as memory.

According to the report, neural lacing could also enable us to communicate with machines directly, without the need for additional interfaces, and upload and download our thoughts to computers.

Earlier this year, he warned that humans risk becoming irrelevant unless they merge with machines.

“Over time I think we will probably see a closer merger of biological intelligence and digital intelligence,” Mr Musk said at the World Government Summit in Dubai.

“It's mostly about the bandwidth, the speed of the connection between your brain and the digital version of yourself – particularly output.”

Elsewhere in Silicon Valley, Facebook is reportedly working on a “computer interface” said to be capable of scanning users’ brains.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg last year spoke about how people could one day “capture a thought, what you’re thinking or feeling in kind of its ideal and perfect form in your head, and be able to share that with the world.”

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