I want to thank Facebook for making it blatantly obvious to us that we should never get any brain implants. They'll definitely use them to read your thoughts and push ads straight into your consciousness. Oh, and you'll probably have to pay a subscription.
Neuralink is an excellent advancement for brain science and it is greatly going to help disabled people and those with little function left over their bodies. It's okay to celebrate this technology while also hating musk.
Like SpaceX, they've both been excellent ventures that he so far hasn't ruined (probably thanks to the people he delegates to). Just because it's fashionable to hate him for how he's absolutely fucked over Twitter (which i'll remind everyone we've always hated and agreed is bad, use Mastodon instead) doesn't mean his other companies largely spearheaded by others, and their results, are also bad.
That's not even to mention that the kind of dystopian technology people are imagining isn't anywhere close to what the Neuralink device is actually capable of. What everyones fearmongering over is still just science fiction. It's just barely able to interpret brain signals, it's not as powerful as everyone makes it out to be.
2nd edit: forgot what instance I'm on, this comment probably ain't going to do well lol
I'm sure these implants will give much needed ease to patients who suffer frem tremors like parkinson and other neurological diseases. But the things I'm mostly concerned about are:
Will health insurance pay for the implant in a one-time-payment? Will it be a subscription model? What happens when you can't pay your subscription? Will it be shut off?
Will the implant be operated through firmware (like a pacemaker) or software, which reqires frequent updates? If so, will there be - like computer software - "new features" implemented ("With version 2.0 you will be able to share your Neuralink experience with other Neuralink users. Your data may not be leaked, pinky promise."
What if a certain mentally unstable CEO throws a tantrum that will affect the performance of the Neuralink implant negatively? Will there be any legal protection from such thing?
A long time ago I read some cyberpunk novel, and one of the characters had an ocular implant that got infected with malware that flashed spam ads for Indian brothels in his vision 24/7, even with his eyes closed, until he went completely postal.
Fox Viewers: 'Don't get vaccinated because there are brain controlling microchips hidden in the jab.'
Also Fox Viewers: 'I can't wait to get one of Elon's brain chips to own the libs!'
There comes the time you have to root your own brain and install CyanogenMod 23.0 "BrainIac" on it, maybe "TorView" and "OpenMath" too. I recommend "FreeTaste 2.0" as an addon.
On one hand I'm excited for what the tech can do for medical purposes and future applications... On the other hand I'm terrified on what governments and corporations have in mind for it, cause I guarantee it will not be good
You mean the FDA approved of lobotomizing a select few of desperate people to satiate the narcissistic impulses of its founder. Anyone else wanna take a ride in this plastic submarine???
As someone who suffers daily from a traumatic brain injury 5 years ago that's caused me to become physically disabled and cognitively declined, I'm super excited about this.
I think of this as being straight up horrifying. This isn't exciting, this is going to be dystopian nightmare fuel. It's not hard to imagine this being imbedded into human beings against their will too, like prisoners in the US.
I would rather be a Borg, at least they were motivated by a collective good will to move to perfection, not puppets of a dying capitalist state and it's related ideology.
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-60416058 related. It's going to be a subscription service and Musk is going to have his fanboys hooked in for the short life of the company.
Brain-computer/machine interfaces are really interesting when treating conditions like paralysis or Parkinson's disease, and to a certain extent severe psychiatric conditions if you count deep brain stimulation for e.g. severe OCD. I don't think we'll be anywhere near sending detailed multisensory content like ads into people's brains for a long time though. That's so far outside the scope of what brain stimulation can do right now, it's really just scifi.
LastWeekTonight made an interesting episode about medical devices and how they are cleared or approved. The OP's post is about approval for human trials, but I think Neuralink getting approved for the market by FDA and then ruining many lives anyway is a real possibility.
Despite Elon being insane, the idea of brain-computer interfaces could be really great. I'm thinking of people with disabilities or debilitating injuries. This could enable prosthetics with full dexterity that you can control. It could be life changing for some people.
I don't know if that is the first thing Elon is aiming for, but any breakthroughs in the technology that could lead to it becoming a legitimate option to improve people's lives, I think would be a good thing.
I would be down for it if it was a local only connection, no internet, it would also have to be fully owned, no license. I wouldn't even want the cons protocol to resemble tcp/ip
I won't get a brain chip unless there's laws passed banning using them for advertising or for data collection, but knowing our current government those two things will end up being mandatory
Orwell tried to warn us. Apparently that wasn't enough. The implications of the neurolink, a chip in our brains, seems like a bad idea. The meme is on point. Constant ads, which are out of ones control, might drive people to madness. Imagine having no space to think?
I'd never opt for it unless i couldnt function without it, and I sure don't wanna live forever in a computer, or at all. The potential for abuse is astronomical. Let's hope we have fought for a massive shift in consciousness before this comes to full fruition, right?
I'm picturing that one day people will need guides on how to "jailbreak" their own brains, because they want the be able to live without the constant advertising and recording. Their brains no longer belong to them but the companies
Given musk (with no cave diving experience) called the expert cave diver a pedo when he was told the sub was useless, threw an obviously annoying sign on the roof, started a stupid tunnelling company which would have taken 3 mins of market research to realise won't work in reality.. I hate to think what crap ideas he contributed to the researchers.
The only people who should even remotely consider it, are people who are terminal and who get paid millions by musk
I know the meme is making fun of these people, but the “expectation” makes it look like the only thing they expect to get out of it is feeling like they’re cool for having it
I'm in the awkward position of being genuinely excited by this type of technology while desperately wishing literally anyone but Elon Musk was pushing them.
I'm amused how Neuralink was a highly regarded breakthrough celebrated by the likes of Reddit/Lemmy folks, but once Musk was revealed as an idiot, Neuralink is suddenly "lobotomizing".
One would imagine that the DX fanbase would be aware of what a bad idea this is, just think back to HR and the replacement chip thing... Now imagine that without there even being a replacement, that they'd have implemented all that in secret.
You have been banned for hate speech reason "@libsoftiktok YOU ARE A HORRIBLE PERSON AND NEED TO DIE, YOU LAUGH AT QUEER PEOPLE DYING" Self termination in 3, 2, 1!
Comic Book series Transmetropolitan has a few panels like this I believe. I can't remember if it's from his glasses ot an implant though. AR advertisements on top of real world advertising.
Came across the concept of Transhumanism a number of years ago in an English class on futuristic literature. Charles Stross's Accelerando was the main text.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transhumanism
They won't even need to stream ads into your brain, because if the whole point is to influence your mind on stuff, well they'll have root access to do so without you realising anyway.