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Musk's Neuralink Enters Great Britain · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:01
  Hey everybody, welcome back to the Elon Musk Podcast.
• 0:05
  This is a show where we discuss. The Critical.
• 0:07
  Crossroads that shape. SpaceX.
• 0:09
  Tesla X, The Boring Company and Neurolink.
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  I'm your host, Will Walden. I got a question for you.
• 0:19
  Can brain implants become mainstream in medical treatment?
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  Within the next decade? Neurolink announced plans to
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  initiate clinical trials of its brain implant ships in Great
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  Britain, targeting a start date in 2025.
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  Elon Musk founded this company, and it's already received
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  approval to begin similar human trials in the United States,
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  marking Great Britain as Neurolink's first international
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  testing site. Now, Neurolink's implants aim to
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  enable direct brain to computer interactions, and they've
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  already proven this. They've been designed initially
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  to help individuals with severe neurological disabilities.
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  Patients who have lost motor functions from conditions like
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  paralysis, ALS, or spinal cord injuries could potentially use
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  these chips to communicate and operate external devices like
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  phones, computers, laptops. They've already played games
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  with them. They're drastically increasing
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  the autonomy of these people. Now, just to be clear here, the
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  procedure involves placing microchips into your brain using
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  specialized surgical robots, not people, allowing implanted
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  electrodes to read neurological signals and relay those signals
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  wirelessly to external technology.
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  So think of Bluetooth similar to that.
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  Now there's always regulations. British regulators granted the
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  company permission after assessing extensive preclinical
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  data from neuralinks laboratory testing.
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  British healthcare authorities evaluated safety data from
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  animal testing, including results from recent monkey
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  trials in the United States. Approval came after EU KS
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  Medicines and healthcare products Regulatory agency MHRA
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  concluded that Neurolink's submission satisfied all safety
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  requirements necessary to proceed with human participants.
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  Now, Neurolink intends to begin the UK trials by implanting
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  chips into a very limited group of patients with profound
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  disabilities, specifically targeting those who have lost
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  motor control due to severe injury or progressive
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  neurological diseases. Participants will undergo
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  neurosurgery to implant small devices.
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  Approximately. The size of a coin directly
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  embedded into brain tissue, enabling them to send signals to
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  external electronic devices like computers, smartphones, or
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  certain kind of specialized medical equipment for that
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  specific patient. And Nerlink expects that these
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  early trials will generate vital insights into how effectively
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  the chips can facilitate communication in daily functions
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  for patients with severe physical impairments.
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  Now, the decision to conduct trials in Great Britain follows
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  extensive discussions between Neuralink representatives and UK
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  healthcare regulators. The UK possesses A comprehensive
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  framework governing biomedical innovation, offering clear
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  regulatory guidelines and prompt review processes.
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  Great Britain's healthcare system frequently hosts
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  pioneering clinical studies due to its structured approach to
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  evaluating and moderating experimental technologies.
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  Now in the United States, Neurolink has already commenced
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  its initial human clinical trials earned studies following
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  approvals from the FDA. The American trials involve
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  similar patients with neurological impairments.
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  The chips implanted into human subjects aim to test practical
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  functionality, safety and the durability of neural interfaces.
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  And British tests will complement the data obtained by
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  US trials, providing comparative insights to fine tune the tech
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  and enhances performance and reliability.
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  Now Neural Link's brain chips hold potential beyond assisting
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  disabled individuals. Musk has previously stated that
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  long term goals involve enhancing human cognitive
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  abilities and creating brain interfaces accessible to help
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  the individuals interested in augmentation.
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  So think of piercing your ears maybe, but instead Pierce your
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  skull and implanting this in your brain.
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  It's one of those things if you want to augment your your wealth
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  of knowledge, that'd be kind of interesting, wouldn't it?
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  If you have comments on your podcast platform post, if you
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  would do that, would you get Neuralink just to be a little
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  bit smarter or maybe absolutely smarter Interesting that's
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  ethical consideration, right? So there's broader applications
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  remain contentious here with Neuralink, privacy, data
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  security, possible misuse. Despite these concerns, though,
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  Neurolink maintains the strict protocols, regulatory oversight
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  and ethical standards will guide any developments involving
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  broader human enhancements. And beyond human trials,
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  Neurolink faces ongoing scrutiny regarding animal testing,
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  especially after previous allegations of animal welfare
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  violations surfaced. The company addressed those
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  concerns by highlighting adherence to establish
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  guidelines, regular oversight by veterinary professionals, and
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  implementing advanced care standards.
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  Regulatory bodies and independent monitors closely
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  oversee animal testing practices at Neuralink, ensuring
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  compliance with humane treatment guidelines.
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  Neurolink operates within a highly competitive domain domain
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  right now. Several other companies globally
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  also develop neurotechnological devices aimed at similar patient
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  populations, including industry veterans like Synchron and
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  BlackRock Neurotech. Synchron, for example, recently
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  received approval from US regulators to test brain
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  computer interfaces, offering a less invasive method than
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  Neurolink, utilizing blood vessels rather than direct
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  surgical insertion. Such competition pushes
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  Neurolink to continually refine its methods and technology to
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  maintain a technological and clinical advantage.
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  Neurolink anticipates significant logistical hurdles
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  and technical challenges throughout the upcoming clinical
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  testing phase. Potential risks include
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  infection and implantation sites, rejection by patient
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  immune systems, or ineffective long term functioning of
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  implanted electrodes. Continuous refinement,
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  collaboration with clinical experts and careful data
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  analysis will shape Neurolink strategies to address these
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  complications during the clinical development process.
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  Now, as Neurolink moves towards human trials in Great Britain
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  and expands globally, the advancement signals a critical
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  phase for wider adoption of neurotechnology in medical
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  treatment. And hopefully these British
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  trials are a plus. We want Neurolink to succeed.
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  We want people to have better lives now.
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  Once they enter the international clinical studies
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  realm, they're going to confirm that the steady, the steady
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  advancement towards broader medical acceptance of neural
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  implants is going to be a real thing in the future for every
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  single person. Hey, thank you so much for
• 7:59
  listening today. I really do appreciate your.
• 8:02
  Support. If you could take a second and
• 8:03
  hit the subscribe or the follow button on whatever podcast
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  platform that you're listening on right now, I greatly
• 8:09
  appreciate it. It helps out the show
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  tremendously and you'll never miss an episode.
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  caught up quickly. And please, if you want to
• 8:20
  support the show even more, go to Atreoncom Stage Zero.
• 8:26
  And please take care of yourselves and each other.
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  And I'll see you tomorrow.