Elon Musk's neuroscience startup Neuralink Corp. is expected to give a progress report on its brain-implant technology in a highly anticipated streamed event Wednesday night. In a tweet last week, the company teased a demo for the event, which begins at 9 p.m. New York time, with a short video that slowly spelled out the message "please join us for a show and tell." Some outside researchers said the video may indicate that a Neuralink device has been used to decode brain signals to type words on a screen, although they speculated that it would most likely be through a monkey or a wearable device. Neuralink has been testing its implant technology on nonhuman primates for several years, including in April 2021, when the company released a video showing that a monkey implanted with two Neuralink devices could play a videogame called Pong as the device translated its brain activity into commands with the help of machine-learning software. Other researchers have managed to use a brain-computer interface to enable monkeys to produce words on a computer screen.

For the past six years, Elon Musk has been working on a chip designed to be implanted into human brains, with his neurotechnology company Neuralink. His ultimate goal is to develop a'brain-computer interface' that will initially be used to help people with paralysis or motor neurone disease to communicate. It will allegedly allow them to operate computers and mobile devices using their thoughts, but could have further uses in years to come. So what exactly is the chip? How does it work and how will it cure all medical problems?

Elon Musk's Neuralink is set to host its annual'Show and Tell' event tonight at 9 pm ET that is expected to share a progress update on its brain-machine interface. The neuroscience startup shared a teaser for the event on its Twitter account, showing a short video that spelled out the message'please join us for a show and tell,' and some users speculate the world will see a person with Neurlink's chip type on a screen. The goal is to develop a full-implanted brain-computer interface (BCI) for people with paralysis, allowing them to operate computers and mobile devices using their thoughts. The first Show and Tell event, held in 2020, demonstrated the technology with a pig and last year, Musk revealed the update with a monkey that played a video game using only its mind. Neuralink will host its annual'Show and Tell' event tonight at 9 pm ET, which is expected to share the progress of the technology.

The billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's brain chip startup is preparing to launch clinical trials in humans. Musk, who co-founded Neuralink in 2016, has promised that the technology "will enable someone with paralysis to use a smartphone with their mind faster than someone using thumbs". The Silicon Valley company, which has already successfully implanted artificial intelligence microchips in the brains of a macaque monkey named Pager and a pig named Gertrude, is now recruiting for a "clinical trial director" to run tests of the technology in humans. "As the clinical trial director, you'll work closely with some of the most innovative doctors and top engineers, as well as working with Neuralink's first clinical trial participants," the advert for the role in Fremont, California, says. "You will lead and help build the team responsible for enabling Neuralink's clinical research activities and developing the regulatory interactions that come with a fast-paced and ever-evolving environment."

Neuralink, Elon Musk's brain-implant company, said on Thursday it had received a green light from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to kickstart its first in-human clinical study, a critical milestone after earlier struggles to gain approval. Musk has predicted on at least four occasions since 2019 that his medical device company would begin human trials for a brain implant to treat severe conditions such as paralysis and blindness. Yet the company, founded in 2016, only sought FDA approval in early 2022 – and the agency rejected the application, seven current and former employees told Reuters in March. The FDA had pointed out several concerns to Neuralink that needed to be addressed before sanctioning human trials, according to the employees. Major issues involved the lithium battery of the device, the possibility of the implant's wires migrating within the brain and the challenge of safely extracting the device without damaging brain tissue.