Neuralink Shows Off Monkey Typing Telepathically Using Virtual Keyboard

While Elon Musk might be busy with his latest acquisition of Twitter, another company of his called Neuralink showed off its latest progress in a "show and tell" event.

Neuralink put on display a new trick - a monkey named Sake that used its mind to follow prompts and type on a virtual keyboard. The monkey's Neuralink implant is able to charge wirelessly.

It appears that Sake was coaxed into sitting beneath a charger with a fruit smoothie. Sake essentially manipulated an onscreen keyboard using his mind (all thanks to the implant, of course).

Meet Sake, the smartest monkey you'll see

While it looks incredible, Musk pointed out that Sake is only moving a cursor across a virtual keyboard because, well, monkeys cannot spell.

A Neuralink-trained monkey doing Telepathic Typing, using just his mind ? @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/PUkFA9qpUi

¡ª DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) December 1, 2022

"Here you can see Sake, that¡¯s one of our other monkeys, typing on a keyboard. This is telepathic typing. Though to be clear, he¡¯s not actually using a keyboard. He¡¯s moving the cursor with his mind to the highlighted key. Now technically, he can¡¯t actually spell. So I don¡¯t wanna oversell this thing, because that¡¯s the next version," Musk said.

Neuralink

Also read: Neuralink Co-Founder's New Rival Company Requires No Hole-Drilling In Skulls

Reuters

In the video, Sake the monkey may be seen operating the virtual keyboard and choosing his treat for performing the task. Musk claimed that "Sake actually likes doing the demo. He¡¯s not like strapped to the chair or anything. The monkeys actually enjoy doing the demos. And they get the banana smoothies, so it¡¯s kind of a fun game. I guess the point I¡¯m trying to make is that we care here about animal welfare. And I¡¯m pretty sure our monkeys are pretty happy," Teslarati reported

Neuralink

With this amazing technology, the monkey's brain is essentially mirroring itself on to the screen in the form of words.

Neuralink's brain computer interface will work with a brain implant, and the company hopes to first focus on helping people who are blind and those with spinal cord injuries.

Also read: A Startup Beat Elon Musk's Neuralink With Its Brain-Computer Interface Implant

Even though the tech is still in its nascent stages, Elon Musk's Neuralink has applied with the US Food and Drug Administration to begin human trials - which the company hopes to begin within 6 months.

We are now confident that the Neuralink device is ready for humans, so timing is a function of working through the FDA approval process

¡ª Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 1, 2022

What do you think about Neuralink's ambitious technology? Let us know in the comments below. For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com.

References

Shankland, S. (2022, December 1). Neuralink¡¯s Brain Chip Plans: Help the Blind See and the Paralyzed Walk. CNET. https://www.cnet.com/science/neuralink-brain-chip-plans-help-the-blind-see-and-the-paralyzed-walk/

Alvarez, S. (2022, November 30). Neuralink shares video of monkey telepathically ¡°typing¡± using virtual keyboard. TESLARATI. https://www.teslarati.com/neuralink-monkey-telepathic-typing-virtual-keyboard-demo-video/