Can Neuralink Be Hacked? Cybersecurity Experts Weigh-In - What is it?

Shidonna Raven
3 hours ago
2 min read

February 7, 2024

Source: Compass

Photo / Image Source: Unsplash,

What is Neuralink?

Neuralink's innovative device, wireless in nature, comprises a chip and more than a thousand slender, flexible conductors arranged in electrode arrays. These are delicately inserted into the cerebral cortex by a surgical robot. So, what is a Neuralink supposed to do? The primary function of these electrodes is to capture thought patterns associated with movement. Musk envisions a future where an app will convert these signals into actions like moving a cursor or generating text, enabling control over computers through thought alone. He compared this potential to imagining a world where Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than anyone using a keyboard. Named Telepathy, this product is the initial offering Musk has in mind for Neuralink.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave the green light for Neuralink's human clinical trials in May 2023. By September, the company had started recruiting participants with quadriplegia for its inaugural study. Since its inception in 2016, Neuralink has aimed to integrate human intelligence with artificial intelligence. While its long-term goals are ambitious, its current focus aligns more with developing neural keyboards and similar tools for individuals with paralysis to control computers. The approach and speed with which Neuralink has chased these objectives have led to federal investigations concerning the deaths of study animals in Neuralink trials and the handling of hazardous materials.