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Neuralink has thousands of people ready to drill a hole in their heads · Elon Musk Podcast

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  Hi everybody. Welcome back to the Elon Musk
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  podcast. Today we're going to be talking
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  about Neuralink and its quest to mesh the human brain with
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  cutting edge technology. Now imagine having a gadget no
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  bigger than a coin nestled comfortably in your skull,
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  transforming your thoughts into commands for a digital device.
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  Neuralink, founded by Musk in 2016, is pushing the envelope
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  with the device that could revolutionize how we interact
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  with technology and offer New Hope for individuals with severe
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  neurological conditions like Parkinson's disease.
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  And the idea is to implant this device, which Musk as compared
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  to a high tech fitness tracker for your brain, into humans,
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  starting with a select few to prove its safety and
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  effectiveness. But it hasn't been all smooth
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  sailing so far. There's a lot of enthusiasm
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  right now, yet also hurdles to overcome, from rigorous FDA
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  processes to the sheer boldness of the operation itself.
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  Now this is an ambitious plan and Elon Musk and Neuralink are
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  going to push through this. And they have had thousands of
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  people interested in this process.
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  These are prospective patients, and the FDA recently gave it a
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  green light to perform additional implant trials in
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  2024 without an evaluation period.
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  Now the company Neuralink estimates that each implant
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  surgery will be about $10,500, including exams, parts and
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  labor, and then it will charge insurers about $40,000.
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  And it forecasts annual revenue as high as $100 million in about
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  5 years. Now Neuralink says that it plans
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  to perform 11 surgeries in 20/24/27 in 2025 and 79 in 2026.
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  Then in 2027 it's going to ramp up significantly to 499
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  surgeries and then by 20-30, twenty 2204 surgeries.
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  And this is according to documents provided to investors
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  now, Neuralink's vision is huge. A future where our thoughts
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  could control the digital realm, where the barriers between the
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  mind and machines are blurred. It's not just your cell phone in
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  your hand anymore or in your pocket.
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  Whatever you think happens on the screen, it's like something
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  straight out of science fiction. Well, it's close to becoming
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  someone's reality next year, and thousands have already raised
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  their hands, ready to go, eager to be among the first to try out
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  Neuralinks brain implant. The company's plan is huge, and
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  the interest in Neuralink's project isn't just from
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  potential patients though. The entire tech and medical
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  communities are keeping an eye on Neuralink.
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  They want to invest and they want to make money.
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  And after an initial set back with the FDA, they've been
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  greenlit. And these human trials has
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  sparked A mixture of excitement and caution.
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  Neuralink held Neuralink has laid out its criteria for
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  participants specifically looking for individuals with
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  severe mobility impairments. But it's not just about
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  improving health, it's about pushing human potential as well
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  for future patients. And the procedure to implant
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  this device is as intricate as the tech that's inside of it.
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  It's not just for the faint of heart.
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  A piece of your skull is temporarily removed to allow a
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  robot precise to a level that's hard to fathom to insert super
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  thin threads into your brain. And these threads are the
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  conduits through which the brain will communicate with the
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  outside world. And when the surgery is
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  complete, the device takes the place of the bone that was
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  removed. It's high stakes, high
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  precision, and this is an immense challenge that Neuralink
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  is taking on. But there's more than technology
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  and proficiency here. Musk's track record of pushing
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  the envelope and smashing through the perceived ceiling.
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  Tesla and SpaceX, it's well known.
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  Yet with Neuralink, the stakes are even higher.
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  There's no room for the trial and error approach that's often
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  possible than other tech ventures talking about the human
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  brain, people's skulls. And there's a need for speed
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  driven by competition in Musk's own sense of urgency.
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  But they have to be absolutely precise with every single
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  motion. With this now, Musk's urgency
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  isn't arbitrary, though. In the background, competitors
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  are moving forward and moving fast.
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  With companies like Synchron already conducting human trials,
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  Musk is candid about the competitive pressure, stressing
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  the need for Neuralink to move swiftly to stay in the game.
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  It's a race against time and against the progress of AI,
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  which Musk's believe could pose risks if not matched by
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  advancements in human cognition. But this isn't just about
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  keeping up. It's about leadership and vision
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  in a field that's rapidly expanding.
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  And Neuralink's goal isn't to just create another medical
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  device. It's a leapfrog.
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  Over decades of more cautious progress to redefine the
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  relationship between humans and technology, and the company has
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  gained a level of attention and funding.
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  It's unprecedented for a human computer interface venture,
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  reshaping the entire industry's trajectory.
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  Now I'm going to do a little side note here.
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  I don't think I'd be OK with this as some sort of device
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  where I can communicate with another device.
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  I'm OK using my phone right now, but think about it for a minute.
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  Would you get a piece of your skull removed and an implant in
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  your brain to just be more active on the social media or,
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  you know, texting your friends without actually texting with
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  your thumbs? Think about that for a moment.
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  That's what this could offer people in the future.
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  It could also benefit a lot of people medically and could help
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  them overcome physical challenges.
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  So This is why it's going to be a great technology for those
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  people now, neurally, it's promising and it goes beyond
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  helping individuals with paralysis that were other motor
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  function impairments. The broader goal is to expand
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  human capabilities and to unlock potential.
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  That's been the realm of fiction until now, and the potential
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  applications are kind of crazy, from advanced communication
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  possibilities for those who can't speak to new levels of
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  interaction with the digital world.
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  So if you can't speak and you have no way to communicate, but
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  this device could allow you to speak with other people because
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  you could still think and those thoughts of communication could
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  come through and you could speak with other people, that seems
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  like a potential game changer for those people.
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  And the path to this future is paved with these giant marvels.
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  The implant itself is miniature and powerful.
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  It's not just the brain, though. Neurolink is exploring spinal
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  implants to restore movement, and this is going to be an
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  overall approach for the company.
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  It's not just going to be the one device.
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  The vision is to move beyond simple tasks to more complex
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  interactions, with Musk hinting at capabilities like telepathy
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  or interaction with AI in unprecedented ways.
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  So here we are, on the edge of a new era between humans and
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  machines. Again, sort of like what the
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  cell phone did before. Neuralink's path is going to be
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  challenging, but it's also lined with the promise of the future
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  that could redefine what it means to be a human being.
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  The potential for growth, for change or something to kind of a
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  new evolution for humans. It's all within reach now, and
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  it's fascinating to me. And with that, I'm going to say
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  thanks for tuning into the show. We love diving into these
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  stories and I love sharing them with you, so please don't forget
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  to hit the subscriber the follow button on your favorite podcast
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  platform. It's totally free and takes just
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  a moment. Every episode is pretty quick,
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  10 minutes or under. Perfect for staying up to date
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  without slowing you down. And until next time, keep
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  looking up and questioning the world around us.
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  You never know what marvels are just around the corner.
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  Take care of yourselves and each other and I'll see you tomorrow.