An investigation by Wired reveals the grisly complications of Neuralink brain implants in monkeys, including brain swelling and paralysis.
Well I was expecting some horror movie stuff with the headline Terrible Things. Monkeys fighting hallucinations or endless screaches of pain for no apparent reason.
This is just boring old paralysis and brain swelling. Poor monkeys.
True. The headline is sensationalist. It’s not unusual to have these types of effects from medical device testing, animals scratching at scars etc. but that doesn’t excuse the outright lying from Musk. These people signing up for the trial are insane.
I’m sorry but, It really feels awful reading this comment, downplaying the horrific pain a torture these monkeys went through just to have some failed technology that did nothing for them… we did not even get good results from the test because a majority of the monkeys died from their complications… that’s is awful… most animals when ethical implications are considered for testing, don’t end up with majority of the subjects dying from terrible, preventable outcomes…
I agree here. Hope my comment didn’t downplay the severity of this. It is horrible and the investigation needs to continue. But I stand by saying the headline makes it sound like a Saw movie.
That being said, I hope the whole thing gets shut down at this point. It sounds like vapourware. Like full self driving I’m sure it all just works. Just wait 2 more months and they’ll release it. Yeah. Right.
Removed by mod
It’s not sensationalist. Paralysis and brain swelling as a result of neuralink implants are terrible things. The headline is accurate. People have just developed a more theatrical view of the horrors of animal experimentation based on movie depictions, and cases like these feel understated in comparison, despite both being horrible in their own way. The reality isn’t usually as loud and in your face about it as movies, but that doesn’t make it any less terrible.
He’s testing it on paralyzed people, so they’re probably depressed and desperate. It’s kind of like he’s trying to help, but it could be seen as sleazy because he knows these people will try anything to fix their situation.
“He’s testing it on paralyzed people”
He’s exploiting paralyzed people under the guise of trying to help them.
Hes experimenting on the disabled.
Sure, that’s what I was saying in the following sentence.
So to phrase this appropriately: you could say the apartheid blood emerald trust fund baby is experimenting with dangerous technology on disabled people because he views them as less than human. I don’t think it can be viewed any other way than sleazy. Besides it’s not like people with disabilities are so desperate they don’t care about their quality of life.
Oh the monkeys also spoke with a clear and erudite Danish accent over and over “WHAT HAS BEEN DONE CANNOT BE UNDONE AND NOW ALL THAT IS WILL NOT BE”, and it’s said that those who looked upon the have not slept or spoken since. However that is not a vetinary issue.
Veterinary*
Idk, brain swelling is painful and suffering from it while paralysed until you die is kind of nightmarish. If anything, hallucinations look more tame than what actually happened.
IDK that still sounds pretty terrible.
Human beings are going to die at the hands of Neuralink surgeons.
Neuralink is doing important research and their product has the potential to really help disabled people. Musk shouldn’t gloss over what happened to the test animals, he should say the truth which is, doing neuro surgery on anything and preventing complications is extremely difficult. My dad could benefit from this type of product and it’s offensive to hear people accuse Neuralink of taking advantage of disabled people like they are unable to make rational choices. There already are orgs and companies putting similar wired brain implants into human subjects. It is the job of regulators to ensure they are ready to take that step, regardless of what Musk says or does. We should put our Musk hate aside and be happy the science is being advanced and could do some good for people that really need it.
I think it’s less Musk hate/taking advantage of disabled people and more the abuse and misconduct when it came to these animals, and putting the fear into people that would ever be interested in this procedure that Neuralink would be extremely negligent when it came to installing and maintaining these devices.
Musk has said that these animals were extremely unwell/close to death when they were initially inducted into the study, but multiple anonymous employees have come forward stating that this isn’t true, and Neuralink had extensive evaluation and training to ready them for the process.
Regardless of the state of their health or amount of training, multiple test subjects had bleeding of the brain, infections, and damaged caused by them picking/pulling at the devices installed onto them as a result of the negligence of the ones who conducted these experiments. Is it not common sense to assume an animal who has no idea of what is happening to them to understand that they need to leave the device alone? There should have been measures taken to prevent them from prodding at these devices so as not to cause damage to them and subsequent injury and infection. These animals are living, breathing, conscious beings that have thoughts and fears, and being a part of this experiment would be an absolute nightmare for any living being capable of thought.
As for installing these devices on people who suffer from paralysis, if the people involved in the trials are not challenged mentally and can make the fully conscious decision to give Neuralink their consent, then nobody can argue with that regardless of the possible dangers of doing so. The science and technology of brain computer interfaces is not something to be ignored. It can be extremely valuable and could quite literally change the world, but it has to be done correctly and with extreme caution.
I assume those of you downvoting this comment think I’m a Musk fanboy. I’m not. Or you assume I don’t care about the animals. You’re partially correct. It sucks they died. But, it’s the best way to test this kind of technology before human trials, there are no better substitutes. I’m ok with sacrificing animal lives to save human ones. Downvote away.
Not necessarily a fanboy, but still incredibly naive to think that Elon has an actual plan to help people with these things rather than doing good ol’ Elon stuff which is experimenting with shit he does not understand just because it looks cool and makes him look like the Iron Man of real life. And while doing so, he is also torturing animals. Great!
Here is an interview from Wired with a scientist in this field of study discussing what Neuralink is doing as well as it’s similarities and differences to other brain implants. It might make you a bit less cynical. https://youtu.be/Gv_XB6Hf6gM?si=DJDw-ljuP8D1Frj8
Sorry man, but when it comes down to Elon Musk getting his filthy, greedy and insanely narcissistic hands on anything, there’s no way I am not going to be cynical about it. For what is worth, Jesuschrist himself could come and sing praises about him and I would still not believe anything good is coming from that man and brain chips.
