Neuralink Founder Elon.Muskclaimed this week that the first human patient to receive the company's brain-implanted chip has been able to control a mouse cursor with consciousness.
The problem, however, is that Neuralink has so far failed to provide any evidence to support this claim, instead raising questions from medical researchers.
An article published in the journal Nature states.This is not a novel technological innovation and Neuralink provides insufficient information to verify its claims and, more worryingly, to assess the safety of its operations.
Dr. Sameer Sheth, an implantable neurotechnologist at Baylor College of Medicine, told Nature, "They're only sharing the parts they want us to know, and that's causing a lot of concern in the industry."
Dr. Sheth also said that researchers still have no idea what Neuralink's robotic surgeon is capable of. So far, he noted, we've only seen footage of it operating on a "dummy" a year ago. In fact, Neuralink has yet to confirm whether it has used a robotic surgeon on a human patient.
Dr. Bolu Ajiboye, a brain-computer interface researcher at Case Western Reserve University, told Nature, "Human control of the cursor is nothing new." He noted that the first human to control a cursor via a brain-computer interface appeared in 2004, and tests on monkeys were even earlier. Meanwhile, other brain-computer interface projects have enabled completely paralyzed patients to communicate through digital stand-ins using only their thoughts, or to control robotic prosthetics.
Nonetheless, Dr. Ajiboye isn't in a hurry to dismiss Neuralink, telling Nature, "The more companies involved in human brain-computer interface research, the more it will advance the field."