Although there have been promises for a couple of years that the Neuralink brain chip will be tested on humans, it still hasn’t happened. The company originally planned it already in 2020, but facing various obstacles, so far the brain chip trials have only been conducted with the participation of animals, mostly monkeys and pigs. Obstacles on the way to further testing of the chip are also placed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which last year banned human trials.
The FDA reportedly rejected Neuralink’s application to begin human trials of the brain chip last year. True, such an outcome was somewhat predictable, because such tests are associated with various risks. For example, a chip implanted in the brain could overheat, not work as planned, and its removal could cause brain damage.
Also, it is possible that the FDA is wary of the previous accusations that “Neuralink” was cruel to the animals used in the experiments. Therefore, it is not yet clear when and if this year the company will receive FDA permission to test the chip on humans.
The company last informed about the progress regarding the development of the “Neuralink” chip on November 30 of last year. Then the head of the company, Elon Musk, revealed that “within the next six months” he plans to implant a chip in the human brain. For now, it is hard to believe that this could happen already in May.
