Elon Musk has introduced the world to Gertrude – a pig with a microchip in its brain.
This comes as a result of the tech entrepreneur’s plans to launch a brain-machine interface to connect humans to computers. The ambitious project is being undertaken by Musk’s start-up company Neuralink which he co-founded in 2016, and who applied for human trials last year.
Gertrude along with two other pigs were unveiled during the company’s webcast with the prototype device that had been installed for 2 months.
The chip was connected to neurons in her snout and displayed Gertrude’s activity on a graph that was meant to track her neural data. The device used is a smaller, simplified version of the original probe that was revealed in 2019.
Musk described it as “a Fitbit in your skull with tiny wires.”
The goal of the interface is not just about connecting human beings to devices and to compete with artificial intelligence but Musk argues that the design could also be used to treat and cure conditions such as Parkinson’s and Dementia.
The aim of these animal trials as stated is to gain more understanding as to how the brain works and to try and apply that to the human brain as Neuralink attempts to make leaps in technology that until now we could only imagine in sci-fi movies.
Along with his other companies Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk continues to entice the public’s wonder and imagination as he tries to demonstrate how far technology can take us. Check out the full webcast here.