"Recovering Well" - Neuralink

[Smoove_B]

Apparently someone actually agreed to the surgery:

Elon Musk, Neuralink's billionaire founder, said the first human received an implant from the brain-chip startup on Sunday and is recovering well, in a post on social media platform X on Monday.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration had given the company clearance last year to conduct its first trial to test its implant on humans.

"Initial results show promising neuron spike detection," Musk added.

The startup's PRIME Study is a trial for its wireless brain-computer interface to evaluate the safety of the implant and surgical robot.

The study will assess the functionality of the interface which enables people with quadriplegia, or paralysis of all four limbs, to control devices with their thoughts, according to the company's website.

[msteelers]

Sounds like some saw spiderman 2 and took away the wrong lessons.

[Brian]

I think I've seen this movie...

[infinitelurker]

How much will it cost for me to be able to legitimately say, "I know Kung Fu"?

[Punisher]

If it does what they hope. Giving people the ability to move robotic arms if they have paralysis or something I'm all for it.
I know if I hadn't recovered enough I'd give ot a try.

[ImLawBoy]

As the parent to a child with spastic quadriplegia, I certainly hope for success with this - even if it means grudgingly giving Musk some credit.

[Kurth]

I feel like I just saw this in Starfield, except it was called the Ryujin Neuro Amp.

[Smoove_B]

The part of his approval process involving Macaque monkeys is the stuff of nightmares, so I was a little surprised to see this moving forward. I'm in the group of people that thinks this has the potential to be an amazing, transformative medical advancement but it's in the hands of a less than ideal person.

Hopefully some good comes from it, regardless.

[Blackhawk]

I hope it succeeds. With that said, I have a feeling that I'll be long dead before it's available to the average person who needs it. It'll be a 'luxury' procedure for people with piles of cash for a long, long time.

[hepcat]

I wonder if you can specifically request that they add in that sound from The Six Million Dollar Man you’d hear whenever he used his bionic eye.

[Blackhawk]

I'll just be happy if you can opt out of the interest tracking.

"Based on your recent eye movements, here are some recommendations in the category of Butts."

[Brian]

I'll just be happy if you can opt out of the interest tracking.

"Based on your recent eye movements, here are some recommendations in the category of Butts."

Bad enough Facebook is constantly filling my page with ads for the "Booty Pillow."

[Holman]

Is Musk anything but a spokesperson and source of funding for Neuralink?

To my knowledge he has no medical education. I assume he's not actually designing anything except the eventual branding.

[Sudy]

[Smoove_B]

[Daehawk]

Whatever happened to Musk's vacuum sealed subway tunnel idea?

I remember when the Segway was going to change the way we get around. Yeah.

[Punisher]

I'll just be happy if you can opt out of the interest tracking.

"Based on your recent eye movements, here are some recommendations in the category of Butts."

Bad enough Facebook is constantly filling my page with ads for the "Booty Pillow."

Those are crazy expensive!

[Punisher]

Whatever happened to Musk's vacuum sealed subway tunnel idea?

I remember when the Segway was going to change the way we get around. Yeah.

IIRC, it was recently shut down. Don't know the reasons why though.
As for the Segway, I've always wanted to try it. If I could afford ot, I'd buy it, especially now with my issues.

[Isgrimnur]

Segway is still around and has newer, more compact mobility options starting around $500.

[Punisher]

Still too much for me now bit something to at least look into.

[ImLawBoy]

My parents did a Segway tour in Chicago for some reason (assuming they had some kind of free offer or something). My mom fell off and broke her arm and it still hurts her all these years later.

Thanks Elon!

[Holman]

Did Segway tech lead to the little electric skateboard unicycles I see everywhere now?

[Isgrimnur]

[Blackhawk]

That was quite a segue.

[Rumpy]

Strangely enough, for all the Segway hype, I've never actually seen one in the wild. I guess because being expensive, they never caught on over in this area.

Whatever happened to Musk's vacuum sealed subway tunnel idea?

I remember when the Segway was going to change the way we get around. Yeah.

IIRC, it was recently shut down. Don't know the reasons why though.

From what I recall, it was too expensive a project and too unwieldy, and I think I remember hearing investors had pulled out of the project.

[Holman]

Strangely enough, for all the Segway hype, I've never actually seen one in the wild. I guess because being expensive, they never caught on over in this area.

[Holman]

Actually, I occasionally see small tour groups riding Segways here in Philadelphia, but only in the museum district where the sidewalks are wide and smooth. (I imagine they don't do so well on Old City cobblestones.)

[Blackhawk]

Strangely enough, for all the Segway hype, I've never actually seen one in the wild. I guess because being expensive, they never caught on over in this area.

Whatever happened to Musk's vacuum sealed subway tunnel idea?

I remember when the Segway was going to change the way we get around. Yeah.

IIRC, it was recently shut down. Don't know the reasons why though.

From what I recall, it was too expensive a project and too unwieldy, and I think I remember hearing investors had pulled out of the project.

From what I recall, he never had any intention of building it to begin with. The word from someone who knew Musk was that California was getting ready to open up a new rail system for public transit. Musk wanted to sell cars, and public transport makes them less desirable. So he proposed a superior option to the rail system - a vacuum-sealed hyperloop - that existed only as a theory. Sure enough, California held off on the rail system as a result of the proposal. At that point, Musk had what he wanted. Actually building the thing was unnecessary.

Of course this isn't something that could ever be proven one way or another, but it certainly smells Musky.

[Madmarcus]

I've seen Segway's in many touristy areas. The only time I've ever been on one I found myself fighting the self balancing. My body didn't want to relax and let the machine do it.

[Punisher]

I've seen Segway's in many touristy areas. The only time I've ever been on one I found myself fighting the self balancing. My body didn't want to relax and let the machine do it.

I have that problem with hover boards. They are a big nope for me.

[Rumpy]

Strangely enough, for all the Segway hype, I've never actually seen one in the wild. I guess because being expensive, they never caught on over in this area.

Whatever happened to Musk's vacuum sealed subway tunnel idea?

I remember when the Segway was going to change the way we get around. Yeah.

IIRC, it was recently shut down. Don't know the reasons why though.

From what I recall, it was too expensive a project and too unwieldy, and I think I remember hearing investors had pulled out of the project.

From what I recall, he never had any intention of building it to begin with. The word from someone who knew Musk was that California was getting ready to open up a new rail system for public transit. Musk wanted to sell cars, and public transport makes them less desirable. So he proposed a superior option to the rail system - a vacuum-sealed hyperloop - that existed only as a theory. Sure enough, California held off on the rail system as a result of the proposal. At that point, Musk had what he wanted. Actually building the thing was unnecessary.

Of course this isn't something that could ever be proven one way or another, but it certainly smells Musky.

Ahh, I remember now. Sounds very much like the definition of a con and obstructionist. Although I thought they'd at least built a proof of concept on a smaller scale before the reality of costs spiralled out of control.

[Isgrimnur]

The hyperloop is dead for real this time

Critics said that while the hyperloop may be technically feasible, it still only amounts to vaporware. It’s been called a “utopian vision” that would be financially impossible to achieve. It’s one of those technologies that is also “just around the corner,” according to its boosters — despite outwardly appearing to still be years away from completion. In 2017, Virgin Hyperloop’s top executives told The Verge they expect to see “working hyperloops around the world... by 2020.” That deadline was later pushed to 2021.

During the pandemic, nearly all of the top executives and founders left Hyperloop One, which also shed the Virgin from its name after the company decided to eschew passenger trips in favor of cargo.

[Punisher]

I do think that a cargo miver is a better first idea. After it's perfected they can move onto people.

[Holman]

Has there been any official announcement from Neuralink about the success of this procedure? Has the FDA been able to assess the results? Or do we just have Musk's tweet?

Musk has been known to claim successes that his companies later have to talk back.

[Smoove_B]

We know virtually nothing - some have voiced concern for exactly the reasons you've indicated.

But there is frustration about a lack of detailed information. There has been no confirmation that the trial has begun, beyond Musk's tweet. The main source of public information on the trial is a study brochure inviting people to participate in it. But that lacks details such as where implantations are being done and the exact outcomes that the trial will assess, says Tim Denison, a neuroengineer at the University of Oxford, UK.

The trial is not registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, an online repository curated by the US National Institutes of Health. Many universities require that researchers register a trial and its protocol in a public repository of this type before study participants are enrolled. Additionally, many medical journals make such registration a condition of publication of results, in line with ethical principles designed to protect people who volunteer for clinical trials. Neuralink, which is headquartered in Fremont, California, did not respond to Nature’s request for comment on why it has not registered the trial with the site.