NEURALINK CO-FOUNDER EXITS ELON MUSK'S COMPANY, MAKES SHOCKING CLAIMS ABOUT ITS SAFETY
In a surprising turn of events, Benjamin Rapoport, one of the co-founders of Neuralink alongside Elon Musk, has parted ways with the brain-computer interface company, citing concerns over safety. The revelation came during an interview with the Wall Street Journal's podcast "The Future of Everything."
Rapoport, a neurosurgeon by profession, explained that while he had dedicated much of his career to advancing neural interfaces from science to medicine, he felt compelled to prioritize safety when it came to merging medicine with technology. His departure from Neuralink led him to establish his own venture, Precision Neuroscience.
Basically, Rapoport's main worry is about how Neuralink does its thing. They use these tiny electrodes that go into the brain to get information, but Rapoport thinks this could be dangerous because it might hurt the brain.
On the other hand, his new company, Precision Neuroscience, uses different electrodes that sit on the surface of the brain without going inside. This way, they hope to make the process less risky and safer for people. "I've pretty much devoted my entire professional life to bringing neural interfaces from the world of science to the world of medicine. But I felt that in order to move to the world of medicine and technology, safety is paramount," Rapaport said."For a medical device, safety often implies minimal invasiveness," Rapaport continued. "And in the early days of brain-computer interfaces, there was this notion that in order to extract information-rich data from the brain, one needed to penetrate the brain with tiny little needle-like electrodes"
While Neuralink has garnered attention for its groundbreaking work in brain-computer interfaces, it has also faced criticism in the past. Reports of alleged mistreatment of monkeys at Neuralink facilities and skepticism from the scientific community have cast shadows on the company's endeavors. However, this hasn't deterred enthusiasm for the potential applications of brain-computer interface technology.
Despite attempts to reach out to both Rapoport and Neuralink for further comment, there has been no response at the time of reporting. As the debate surrounding the safety and ethics of brain-computer interfaces continues, the departure of Rapoport underscores the importance of prioritizing safety in the pursuit of technological innovation.
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2024-05-07T10:29:49Z dg43tfdfdgfd