Elon Musk's brain-machine start-up plans human trials in 2020

Elon Musk's ambitious brain-computer start-up Neuralink is looking to start trials on humans next year. Musk talked about the project at an event in San Francisco that was streamed live -- with an eye toward recruiting more talent -- late on Tuesday. Neuralink aligns with a broader trend of technology minds seeking to merge their approaches with the world of healthcare. Facebook has previously devoted resources to exploring computer systems that people could communicate with simply by thinking. The start-up envisions drilling holes into the brain with a custom machine to embed thin threads that connect to a tiny processor, which can then be connected to a smartphone over Bluetooth.