FACT BRIEF

Is Elon Musk piloting a program to put computer chips in people’s brains?

Saturday, February 6, 2021

By Lauralei Singsank

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YES

Founded by Elon Musk in 2016, Neuralink is a neurotechnology company that is designing “the Link,” a neural implant that would let users control computers and mobile devices remotely from their brains. In a January 2021 interview, Musk said, “We’ve already got a monkey with a wireless implant in their skull, and the tiny wires, who can play video games using his mind.” Neuralink has been experimenting on animals with neural interfaces for several years now. The company claims that the wireless nature of the implant lessens the risk of infection.

In 2019, Neuralink stated that it hoped to make inserting a computer connection into the brain safe and painless. Musk stated that human trials could launch by the end of this year. Neuralink hopes to one day create a commercial product, but executives have said that they have a “long way to go."

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Neuralink Neuralink: Approach

Business Insider: Elon Musk says Neuralink implanted a chip in a monkey’s brain

Tesla Dosage: Elon Musk interview on Neuralink monkey (Clubhouse recording uploaded to YouTube, Jan. 2021)

New York Times: Neuralink wants ‘sewing machine-like’ robots to wire brains to the internet

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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.