I have no confidence in Neuralink – and it’s because of Elon Musk

The idea behind Neuralink could help any number of people. The company’s brain-computer interface (BCI) is designed to connect a human brain to a computer, enabling people with paraplegia, for example, to control a computer or smartphone.

Wild Elon is a threat to technological progress in medicine

The extent to which implants like these are beneficial, as well as the possible side effects, however, still need to be researched. This requires trials with human subjects, a step Neuralink says the US Food and Drug Administration has given it permission to take. However, the search for test subjects is yet to get off the ground, with more information due to be released soon.

I’m very receptive to advances in medicine, and I’m fascinated to read about the things new technologies are making possible. AI is helping develop new drugs (article in German), 3D printers are providing better stabilisation for fractures than plaster casts and tools are being developed to make computer use and gaming more accessible.

In my book, this makes Neuralink exciting. My excitement is also partly down to (or exactly because of) the fact that the pictures of the implant make me think of the Commander’s flame from the TV series The 100. That being said, there’s one person who’s shaken my confidence in the company: CEO Elon Musk.

This is mainly down to his actions after acquiring Twitter. Sure, he may have been a rich dude with strange quirks, views worthy of criticism and antisocial management decisions before. But at Twitter, he’s actively and unpredictably intervened in the day-to-day running of the company, blocking and unblocking accounts on the spot or randomly rehashing decisions. This doesn’t inspire confidence in me. Nor does it inspire confidence in advertisers who want a reliable, pleasant environment for their content.

Given the goings-on at Twitter, I’m worried he might go on the rampage at his other companies too. Would he put a Tesla out of action if the driver is too slow for him? Or block somebody’s Neuralink interface because he doesn’t like their T-shirt? These reasons seem far-fetched, but in the last few months, Musk has made it abundantly clear that he doesn’t care about much besides his own opinion. Not only that, but his money and his business partners, who continue to invest in spite of everything, allow him to get away with this kind of behaviour. He can even spread racist and anti-Semitic talking points (article in German) and get off scot-free.

It’d be a pity if medical progress were to be thwarted at this point by one person. Reports that Twitter has simply been a temporary distraction (article in German) for Musk, as well as the fact that he’s found his successor as CEO (article in German) in Linda Yaccarino could bring more calm to the microblogging site. On the other hand, Musk would then have more time to interfere with his other companies. Elon Musk will have a hard time winning back my sympathies. Nevertheless, I hope he lets the people at Neuralink do their job and that they’re able to help a lot of people. The fact that he’s not the only Neuralink investor or founder creates grounds for hope. It means there are a few other people who have both an interest in functional products, and a desire to make money with these products outside of medicine, in line with their vision.