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It has been about a month since Elon Musk and Neuralink put Gertrude their “cyborg pig” on display for the world. The point of this was showing off the business’s progress toward realizing a brain computer-interface. First, lets explain a bit about Neuralink, Elon Musk draws the comparison with “a fitbit in your skull with tiny wires”. A coin-sized chip is placed in a small hole which is drilled in your skull. This chip picks up signals from brain activity using 1,204 threads, which are each thinner than a human hear. The data is then transmitted by the chip via Bluetooth to devices within 5 to 10 meters for BCI uses. However, it also has the possibility to controls the messages your brain sends to neurotransmitters and other parts of your body.

The big idea behind Neuralink is that in the near future a brain implant will be developed which will allow us to control computers with our minds, brain computer interface (BCI). This projected started out to provide people with quadriplegia the opportunity to operate a computer or smartphone using solely their thought. However, Elon Musk also claimed that even further in the future, Neuralink will eventually allow computers to control our mind. Now, despite the way this sounds, this is actually not a bad thing. This is because the chip might be the solution to multiple brain damages/problems.

The device can, as aforementioned, control the messages your brain sends to neurotransmitters and other parts of your body. People who suffer from spinal injuries, have lost their mobility because their brains their brain’s neural connections are damaged and unable to communicate with their body. The Neuralink can restore this connection which will allow people to regain their mobility. The implications of the Neuralink do not stop there. Over time the Neuralink will improve human memory and brain performance which might aid in curing neurological diseases like dementia and Alzheimer. However, while the timeline for the release of the Neuralink is set within a year, it is expected that the development will continue for 25 more years until the device is at its full potential. in addition, we now know better than to always take Musk’s word for the truth…

 

 

 

https://www.rtlnieuws.nl/nieuws/buitenland/artikel/5180240/musk-stopt-computerchip-hersenen-varken

https://gizmodo.com/elon-musk-reveals-his-cyborg-pigs-1844887278

https://thenextweb.com/neural/2020/09/30/elon-musk-put-a-computer-interface-in-a-pigs-brain-could-future-ai-turn-the-animals-against-us/

https://als.be/nl/Braintechonderneming-Elon-Musk-pakt-uit-met-gesofisticeerd-neuraal-implantaat

View at Medium.com

 

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Artificial Intelligence has become a big part of our lives, and rightfully so. It is being deployed in health care to help doctors efficiently diagnose and reduce errors, it helps people make music and books and even every time you look at your phone you are enjoying the benefits of AI. This is only a short list on how it improves and in some cases even saves lives. However, as with most emerging technologies, there are also potential risks associated with the advance of AI.

While we haven’t reached the point of super intelligent machines yet, there is no denying that given the speed of current developments in the area of AI, these will come in the future. However, because the political, societal, legal, financial and regulatory issues are so complex and wide reaching, they should be looked at now in order to be prepared to safely operate among them when the time comes. However, these issues are problems for the future, even now there are already risks associated with AI.

Some of the risks which are already present know are for example autonomous weapons, a machine programmed to kill, is that really what we want? What if an adversary is able to feed disinformation to a military AI program? The consequence could be dire. Vladimir Putin said: “Artificial Intelligence is the future, not only for Russia, but for all humankind. It comes with enormous opportunities, but also threats that are difficult to predict. Whoever becomes leader in this sphere, becomes ruler of the world”.  Other current risks include social manipulation, consider the accusations at the address of Cambridge Analytica of trying to sway the U.S. presidential election in 2016 using 50.000.000 Facebook profiles. The accusations might not have been proven correct, the idea of it being a possibility is a scary one. Another big risks is misalignment, it is very hard to align our goals with those of a machine and when they aren’t aligned it can have big consequences. Even a simple tasks of for example “bring me to work” without having specified the rules of the road can become a disaster.

Now as aforementioned in the beginning of this article, AI brings a lot of positive thing to our lives. The benefits do currently weigh up against the risks in my opinion. However, I do think the focus is to much on can we, can we, can we and not enough attention is paid to should we, should we, should we.

 

 

 

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2018/11/19/is-artificial-intelligence-dangerous-6-ai-risks-everyone-should-know-about/#6ff1a1e62404

https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/mckinsey-analytics/our-insights/confronting-the-risks-of-artificial-intelligence#

https://www.businessinsider.com/artificial-intelligence-healthcare?international=true&r=US&IR=T