Tech billionaire Elon Musk apparently isn't kidding around. Earlier this year he warned that humans must merge “biological intelligence and machine intelligence” or risk becoming “house cats” to our artificial intelligence overlords.
As Outliers told you a few weeks ago, it's part of a budding trend toward high-tech implants that advocates say is the beginning of brave new cyborg future.
Now Musk, whose ventures have ranged from building sleek electric cars to sponsoring space missions, is launching tech startup Neuralink to focus on linking brains to computers.
The company plans to develop brain implants that can treat neural disorders and may one day be powerful enough to put humanity on a more even footing with future superintelligent computers, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing unnamed sources.
Musk has long worried about the threat artificial intelligence might pose to the human race. In a tweet March 28, he gave few details beyond confirming Neuralink's name and tersely noting the “existential risk” in not pursuing this work.
Musk founded the space exploration company SpaceX and co-founded the electric car company Tesla, among other ventures. He is also one of the sponsors of Open A.I., a not-for-profit artificial intelligence research company.
