Meh, I think the concept of interfacing directly with the brain is really interesting, I just don't know if an Elon company is the one I want doing it.
Of course I'd rather have a brain interface that I didn't have to implant though.
Companies know best what is good for us and people crave stuff with a micro- prefix, like microplastics (yummy), microtransactions (funny), microbial infections (it's like a pet), microwaves in your brain (tickles), etc.
We can hardly get our self-designed computer systems to adequately communicate with each other or function. How confident are you that we can design an appropriate interface with our brain? Something which we still have yet to fully decipher?
In no way do I want venture capitalists and tech bros fucking fumbling around in my brain with hardware designed and constructed by the lowest bidder.
Wait, you mean I can let the guy who invented a shittier version of a subway train (the tunnel has colorful LEDs though) and routinely bitches about safety regulations put computer chips in my brain?! Woah, sign me up for the future!
There is a long list of legit and or cook reasons to have a microchip in a brain. Controlling or assisting damaged brain structures, you can mitigate the symptoms.of Parkinsons, give vision to a blind person.. but I also think the cool parts van be nice and probably are inevitable. Being able to communicate in your head, that sort of thing. I see it as something that will happen and people WILL do it.
Also, who do you think will make these chips? A fairy? Of course companies will (and already do) make them.
I think instead of screaming NONONO we should start thinking about what rules your any such companies to follow. Maybe have the design schematics be open source. A hard "off" button, somehow. A ban on ads and tracking (in combination with the hard off)
Yeah there are very start things possible, doesn't mean it has to be like that
Given how big corpos are already fucking up the job market due to AI, it's not such a good idea to go all in with cutting edge technologies right from the get-go
If I can play videogames in my head while I'm at work, great. If my addict dopamine brain gets highjacked so that I don't know how to do anything except consume ads then bad.
I can see them being a game changer for the medical industry, but before I'd trust putting them into anyone's brains they need to be regulated into the ground first.
PC parts can’t even go few years without losing backwards compatibility (e.g. cpu sockets changing every few years). Last thing I need is for my physical body to incompatible with the newest and best stuff because I got a permanent implant when the tech wasn’t as evolved. This will always be the problem with invasive technology in my opinion.
If it is advertised well, it will be the same as with smartphones nowadays. Companies won't plant chips into human brains, people will pay to have chips planted into their brains and pay even more for yearly upgrades.
Depends on the use case and the oversight. If I lose the ability to walk and an implant can make it easier I'll take the implant. It's unfortunate this type of technology didn't exist for Hawking. With what he had he could only write a sentence a minute IIRC.
The devices need FDA approval and some safeguards. A neurosurgeon needs to assess the risk vs benefit for the patient and they need to come to an agreement on whether it's the right treatment. Problems with these devices are strokes, bleeds, infection, swelling in the brain, etc. which while fairly rare aren't insignificant.
Aside from that general statement on risks of brain implants and brain surgery, the other big issue is whether or not they will be supported in 10-15 years or will Elon Musk flush that company down the drain as well? There was a company making implants that helped patients see that just shuttered it's doors and said "whelp, sorry folks, no one can help you with your implant now".
Nobody fearmongering in this thread seems to have any idea how it works.
A brain chip would connect to a specific region of your brain. For example, in the case of a physical disability it would only need to connect to your motor neurons using read-only connectors.
If you specifically had them implant read/write connections into your visual cortex, then sure, someone could hack it and play ads in your head but that's kind of on you at that point.
I'm convinced that the Neuralink is the dumbest idea ever, but I've come to the conclusion that it's better for people to just learn the hard way. Like, it's so obviously stupid that anyone who's still going for it cannot be helped.
What? Why WOULDN'T everybody let the guy whose latest genius idea in a stunning sequence of brilliant business decisions was squeezing every twitter user for money in a service they previously got for free implant hardware into their brain? It'll be just like a tesla: automated driving available next year since like 2010 or so (assuming it doesn't fall apart, run over the elderly or burst into flames) in a hyperloop near you!
Why is art as a reference point for some new technology a bad thing? We can't all get a history degree to understand ancient Egypt, so does everyone need a degree in medicine and computer science to understand neuralink?
I don't really get the meme. Even if the person is too "stupid" to imagine a technology without Black Mirror to do the heavy lifting, it's still a useful metaphor to articulate reasons why.