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It now looks like Elon Musk’s brain chip project is about to become a reality. At the beginning of the year, his Neuralink company inserted a chip into the human brain for the first time. If this experiment is successful, it could set the stage for an entirely new level of human advancement.
Imagine the human brain augmented by the fastest AI chips in existence. That scenario might sound exciting to some, but there are plenty of skeptics out there. In fact, it still sounds like something out of a bad science fiction movie: inserting a chip into the human brain and waiting around to see what happens next. What could possibly go wrong?
Pew survey on brain chips
Back in 2021, the Pew Research Center interviewed a broad cross-section of Americans, to get their opinions on these new brain chips. And the overwhelming impression was not good. In fact, more than half (56%) said that these brain chip implants were a “bad idea” for society. Only 13% said it was a “good idea,” and everyone else just wasn’t sure.
Even more tellingly, even those who seemed to approve of these brain chips were very cautious about their future use. 78% of respondents said that the brain chips were “not for me,” but wouldn’t be opposed to their use in very specialized medical situations. For example, 77% of respondents said they would not be opposed to their use for paralyzed members of society, who might be able to use the enhanced brain chips to walk again. And a clear majority (64%) of respondents said that they would not be opposed to using them to help with the cognitive decline brought about by aging.
But people in general were much more reserved about using their brain chips for anything else. For example, only 32% said they would like to use them to convert thoughts into text or other content. And only 25% said that they would want to search the internet more efficiently with these brain chips.
The social media superstar, powered by brain chips
But that was three years ago. And that means it was before the arrival of ChatGPT and generative AI. Most likely, people would have a much different view of brain chips if Pew Research were to go out and interview the same people all over again. With AI, you might be able to become a social media superstar with a single brain chip.
Imagine, for example, the prospect of being able to create new social media content in any language, at any time. That’s because, with the new brain chips, you would likely be able to access areas of the human brain responsible for language learning. Or, imagine the prospect of harnessing the power of AI to improve your overall daily productivity. You’d be able to push out YouTube scripts in seconds, come up with ideas for new social media posts instantaneously, and find entirely new ways to monetize all that content.
But is it all worth it?
Even Neuralink seems to be hedging its bets on this experiment. On one hand, it says it wants to use the brain chips for safe, medical purposes. But, on the other hand, it says it wants to unlock all the future potential of human development.
Let’s just hope that Elon Musk knows what he’s doing with Neuralink. Unlike other forms of technology, you simply can’t turn off, and then turn back on again, a human brain filled with chips.
