A monkey has learned to play Pong using the Neuralink implant through mind control. In August 2020, Elon Musk’s start-up Neuralink introduced a brain-computer interface that converts neural signals from the brain into commands for a computer using an implant. The technology is expected to enable people with spinal cord injuries to walk again in the future. Recently, the company released a video showing a nine-year-old macaque controlling the video game Pong using two Neuralink brain implants through mind control. According to Neuralink, the monkey had the implants inserted six weeks before the video was recorded.
Initially, the scientists taught the monkey to control the video game using a conventional joystick. They rewarded the animal for every ball hit in the game with a banana smoothie. During this phase, the implants recorded the monkey’s neural activities. Neuralink was able to assign active neurons to the control commands, allowing the monkey to control the game solely through mind control without the joystick. However, the scientific community has expressed doubts about the video presented by Neuralink, as no verifiable evidence of the experiment has been published.
Despite the skepticism, Elon Musk remains confident about the implant’s potential. He believes that Neuralink will enable people with paralysis to use a smartphone through mind control, even faster than healthy individuals using their thumbs. Musk’s ultimate goal is to merge humans with artificial intelligence (AI), but his announcements have been labeled as science fiction by renowned scientists.
