{"id":28327,"date":"2019-08-14T23:08:40","date_gmt":"2019-08-15T06:08:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pocketwisdominsights.com\/pwicolab\/?p=28327"},"modified":"2019-11-13T13:05:32","modified_gmt":"2019-11-13T21:05:32","slug":"elon-musks-brain-chip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pocketwisdominsights.com\/pwicolab\/healthcare\/medical-device-co-lab\/medical-device-co-lab-blogs\/third-party\/elon-musks-brain-chip\/","title":{"rendered":"Elon Musk\u2019s \u2018Brain Chip\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Opening Insights: Merging Intelligence<\/h2>\n

Any man could, if he were so inclined, be the sculptor of his own brain.
<\/em>SANTIAGO RAMON Y CAJAL<\/p>\n

Elon Musk\u2019s neurotechnology startup, Neuralink, is seemingly on-track to birthing the sci-fi phenomenon central to Masamune Shirow\u2019s The Ghost in the Shell<\/em> franchise. Imagine your brain directly jacked into the limitless, boundless wild west <\/em>that is the worldwide web. No more keyboard and mouse. No more screen. No need to use your senses at all. Navigate a new dimension of human consciousness using thought alone. <\/p>\n

Just one hitch, now your brain is subject to neural hackers!<\/em><\/p>\n

Informational Insights: \u201csuicide for the human mind\u201d<\/h2>\n

The following article was published by Observer, an online media outlet that “offers metropolitan professionals an original take on the latest in news, culture, politics and luxury, bringing its irreverent sensibility to a national audience.” It was written by Sissi Cao, a staff writer covering business topics for Observer.<\/p>\n

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(Observer, US<\/a>) Almost exactly a month ago, Elon Musk introduced a room of engineers and curious consumers to a sci-fi-sounding invention made by his neurotechnology startup Neuralink: an implantable \u201cbrain chip\u201d that will \u201cmerge biological intelligence with machine intelligence.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Per Musk\u2019s description, this chip will be installed in a person\u2019s brain by drilling a two-millimeter hole in the skull. \u201cThe interface to the chip is wireless, so you have no wires poking out of your head,\u201d he assured.<\/em><\/p>\n

Musk argued that such devices will help humans deal with the so-called AI apocalypse, a scenario in which artificial intelligence outpaces human intelligence and takes control of the planet away from the human species. \u201cEven in a benign AI scenario, we will be left behind,\u201d Musk warned. \u201cBut with a brain-machine interface, we can actually go along for the ride. And we can have the option of merging with AI. This is extremely important.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

However, some members of the science community warn that such a device could actually lead to human beings\u2019 self-destruction before the \u201cAI apocalypse\u201d even comes along.<\/em><\/p>\n

In an op-ed for The Financial Times on Tuesday, cognitive psychologist and philosopher Susan Schneider said merging human brains with AI would be \u201csuicide for the human mind.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe philosophical obstacles are as pressing as the technological ones,\u201d wrote Schneider, who chairs the Library of Congress and directs the AI, Mind and Society Group at the University of Connecticut.<\/em><\/p>\n

To illustrate this point, she brought up a hypothetical scenario inspired by Australian science fiction writer Greg Egan: Imagine as soon as you are born, an AI device called the \u201cjewel\u201d is inserted in your brain which constantly monitors your brain\u2019s activity in order to learn how to mimic your thoughts and behaviors. By the time you are an adult, the device has perfectly \u201cbacked up\u201d your brain and can think and behave just like you. Then, you have your original brain surgically removed and let the \u201cjewel\u201d be your \u201cnew brain.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

At that point, which is the real you\u2014your biological brain or the \u201cjewel\u201d?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBecause it\u2019s implausible to think that your consciousness could magically transfer to the jewel upon the destruction of your brain,\u201d Schneider reasoned, \u201cit\u2019s more likely that at the moment you opted to remove your brain, you inadvertently killed yourself.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThis suggests a human merger with AI is ill-conceived\u2014at least, if what is meant by that is the eventual total replacement of the brain with AI components,\u201d she continued.<\/em><\/p>\n

In all fairness, technology is far from that technotopia where your entire brain can be \u201cbacked up\u201d in a chip. What Musk proposes for now is using Neuralink\u2019s device to treat neurological diseases, such as  such as dementia and motion disorders. Actual adoption of this device, however, will eventually be subject to FDA approvals and other regulatory reviews.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAI-based enhancements could still be used to supplement neural activity,\u201d Schneider acknowledged. \u201cBut if they go as far as replacing normally functioning neural tissue, at some point they may end a person\u2019s life.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

And once technology is advanced enough for us to choose how much of the human brain we want to be merged with AI, it will be hard to draw the line on how much is too much. \u201cWould it be at 15% neural replacement? At 75%? Any choice seems arbitrary,\u201d Schneider wrote.<\/em> <\/p>\n

https:\/\/observer.com\/2019\/08\/elon-musk-neuralink-ai-brain-chip-danger-psychologist\/<\/a><\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This article originally appeared on OBSERVER: Elon Musk\u2019s \u2018Brain Chip\u2019 Could Be Suicide of the Mind, Says Scientist<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Possibilities of Consideration: Change Your Mind<\/em><\/h2>\n

Being right doesn’t change anything… being wrong lets you change everything.<\/em>
RICHARD JORGENSEN<\/p>\n

Will merging with Artificial Intelligence (AI) change our minds? Most certainly<\/em>. The pressing concern is not that the merge will change us, but the unknown of HOW the merge will change us. Perhaps instead of changing our minds, we should carefully consider how we use AI.<\/p>\n

Take a moment and examine\u2026<\/p>\n