Opening Insights
A Bloomberg article written by Dana Hull dated August 25, 2017, features Elon Musk's latest adventure to pioneer and take a strong foothold in next generation technology and AI. The article provides an overview of Neuralink Corp and its incentive to develop "ultra-high bandwidth brain-machine interfaces to connect humans and computers."
Musk has proven to be at the forefront of innovation and research into AI. He has loudly voiced his concerns regarding the dangers of AI and its application, yet continues to drive the industry. One has to ask, in Musk's attempt to control the industry, is he actually the one creating it?
Informational Insights
Neuralink Corp., the startup co-founded by billionaire Elon Musk, has taken steps to sell as much as $100 million in stock to fund the development of technology that connects human brains with computers.
The San Francisco-based company has already gotten $27 million in funding, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Musk said via Twitter on Friday that Neuralink isn’t seeking outside investors. A spokesman didn’t respond to questions about the source of the funds.
Musk, 46, is the chief executive officer of Tesla Inc. and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. and has several other pet projects, including a venture to bore tunnels for roads or tube-based transportation systems known as the hyperloop, and another project for the responsible development of artificial intelligence.
In June, Musk said Neuralink is a priority after much more demanding commitments to his automotive and rocket companies. “Boring Co. is maybe 2 percent of my time; Neuralink is 3 percent to 5 percent of my time; OpenAI is going to be a couple of percent; and then 90-plus percent is divided between SpaceX and Tesla,” said Musk at the electric-car maker’s annual shareholder meeting.
Few details are known about Neuralink. The company’s sparse website says it’s “developing ultra-high bandwith brain-machine interfaces to connect humans and computers.” It’s also recruiting engineers and scientists to join the effort.
“No neuroscience experience is required: talent and drive matter far more,” the company says on the site. “We expect most of our team to come from other areas and industries.”
Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-25/elon-musk-s-neuralink-gets-27-million-to-build-brain-computers
Possibilities for Consideration
- What if that which we seek to control, ultimately ends up controlling us?
- What if through the search for advancement and technological superiority we ultimately lose our humanity?
- What if books and movies like 1984, Brave New World, Terminator, The Matrix and I-Robot, were not just fiction?
- What if there is a way to create AI to support humanity rather than replace it?
Add Your Insight
By far the greatest danger of Artificial Intelligence is
that people conclude too early that they understand it.
ELIEZER YUDKOWSKY