Elon Musk's brain chip company, Neuralink, is preparing to launch clinical trials in humans, according to recent reports. The firm, founded in 2016, has already implanted microchips into the brains of a macaque monkey named Pager and a pig named Gertrude, and is now recruiting for a clinical trial director to oversee tests of the technology in humans.
Musk has claimed the implants could allow paralysed people to walk, stating that the technology "will enable someone with paralysis to use a smartphone with their mind faster than someone using thumbs". However, the billionaire has a history of overpromising on the timeline; in 2019 he predicted the device would be implanted in a human by 2020.
The clinical trial director role, based in Fremont, California, will involve working with doctors and engineers, leading Neuralink's clinical research activities, and developing regulatory interactions. Neuralink is also recruiting a clinical trial coordinator to help build a team and liaise with regulators, with applicants told they have the "opportunity to change the world".
Musk said last month he was "cautiously optimistic" that the implants could allow tetraplegic people to walk, but stressed that human trials depend on approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He added: "I think we have a chance with Neuralink to restore full-body functionality to someone who has a spinal cord injury."
Neuralink, backed by Silicon Valley investors including Google's parent company Alphabet, has previously demonstrated a monkey playing the video game Pong using only its mind. Musk has described the device as being "implanted flush with skull & charges wirelessly, so you look and feel totally normal".
