According to a recent tweet, Elon Musk had his first human trial for his brain chip implant. Although the goal of these brain implants is to create a relationship between people, specifically those with paralysis, and technology there are still a lot of lingering questions about Musk’s new proposed chip. Some questions include side effects, cost/insurance coverage and other health risks. I think that this advancement in technology is very interesting, but it almost doesn’t seem real. Musk’s brain chip is something that you hear about often in movies or science fiction novels, but it is kind of strange to hear that Musk’s team has actually invented a device that is able to connect the mind with certain technology… I’d call that mind blowing.
My fear for this implant is its effects on the brain and the rest of the body. For example, the device sends off some sort of radiation signaling. What’s to say that this won’t increase the chances of getting cancer or even speed up the rate at which cancer spreads in your body. Another thing is overheating the device. What would happen if the device overheated or broke? What effects would this have on the client and would they just get another chip as a replacement? There are so many unanswered questions about this new technology which also makes it feel kind of unreal because it is the first of its kind. However, if properly executed, I believe that this technology will be able to increase our ways of communication and can definitely benefit our society.