Thousands of people are reportedly lining up to have a portion of their skull removed and one of Elon Musk's brain chips implanted

I Cast Fist@programming.dev to Not The Onion@lemmy.world – 258 points –
Thousands of people are reportedly lining up to have a portion of their skull removed and one of Elon Musk's brain chips implanted
businessinsider.com

Earlier this year, the US Food and Drug Administration gave Neuralink, which Musk cofounded in 2016, approval to launch human trials of its device that Musk has described as a "Fitbit in your skull." The FDA had previously rejected Neuralink's bid for human testing in March over safety concerns, Reuters reported, including that the wires connected to the brain chip could move within a subject's head or that the chip could overheat.

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What the fuck is wrong with people?

Neuralink said in a blog post that it was looking for people who had paralysis in all four limbs because of a spinal-cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, these people are willing to take a risk in order to overcome difficult conditions, and that should be allowed. On the other hand, it feels like Neuralink is preying on their hopes.

If the company figurehead wasn't a libertarian billionaire edgelord, I might look past that second hand. No chance of that, though. He's going to kill people, and then he's going to retweet memes about it.

Wasn't there a report about dozens of dead monkeys from animal trials a few months ago?

I dont think they reached dozens, but yes this is the same project that had dead monkey headlines rolling around

Not just dead, lot's of suffering beforehand. Those were some nauseating stories.

I've read a lot of disturbing stuff on the internet but those descriptions of what the monkeys endured made me feel really uncomfortable

Well good news, if they implant in paralyzed patients and it doesn't work no one will be able to tell they are suffering.

On the other hand, it feels like Neuralink is preying on their hopes.

It's not different than any other experimental treatment.

The sentence after the one you quoted explains how this is different from other treatments (it's Musk). With any other company, the question wouldn't have even entered my mind.

The vitriol against anything vaguely Musky on lemmy is so perplexing to me.

It's nuts that people will froth at the mouth at the merest suggestion they consider buying a Tesla, and then drive off in their Volkswagen.

It's not just Lemmy, it's all of the communities and people that he constantly trolls and shits on. The only people he hasn't tried to piss off are neo-fascists and Russians. If someone doesn't see that, they must not be paying attention. Which, well... that's not a bad idea, to be honest.

Regardless, it's nice that everyone is finally waking up to the fact that he's just a grifter who likes to call non-grifters pedos.

Also, I caught the comment you made next to this one; what client are you using that shows downvotes? If they're actually downvoted (shows +1 to me), it's likely because the sentence, right after the one they quoted, answered their question. So, the comment as-is didn't really add anything to the conversation.

to be fair, the VW EVs are better than the tesla EVs

I don't know why you're being downvoted- Your point is accurate and adds to the conversation. Welcome to reddit, I guess.

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I admit, under the right circumstances, cybernetic enhancements could be cool.

Anything connected in any way with Elon Musk is emphatically not the right circumstances, of course.

What I wouldn't give for a cybernetic gastrointestinal tract. Maybe one where it combines a trash compactor with the butt, so I could literally shit bricks.

I would like a CGT just because mine is so freaking sensitive

We're dumb animals, not much different from other dumb animals.

If squirrels had news media, they could have a story that says, "Thousands of squirrels are lining up to try to cross busy streets in front of cars."

And some number of squirrels would read that and think, "What the hell is wrong with them?"

At least crossing the street gives them a chance of getting to the acorns. This achieves nothing.

I mean, if I couldn't communicate with the outside world or have use of my limbs I would take any risk to regain that functionality. This could have a real shot of giving people with terrible conditions a better quality of life.

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"Think about how dumb the average person is. Now, realize that half of them are dumber than that."

    • George Carlin

Even if it was safe “Fitbit in your skull” sounds awful

“Please track my thoughts and sell the data, daddy Elon!” - the people lining up for this probably

With that chip they won't need to sell your data, they sell you as entity. And if emperor Elon says clap, then you'll clap your hands.

This reminds me of that corporate quest in Starfield where you learn what they were doing at the clinic. Surreal...

Love that they're calling it a Fitbit in your skull. Cause Fitbit is currently dying and removing support. Imagine getting a skull implant that stops getting support and updates after a year, and you now have a useless device in your brain

you now have a useless device in your brain

I think that if you are one of the first to volunteer for this, then you probably wouldn't notice.

As I said in another thread about nLink:

Anyone getting this shit will die just like every single fucking monkey test subject. If they don’t die, their suffering will be unbearable

https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-pcrm-neuralink-monkey-deaths/

Go on Elon, show us how it’s done and take the first one

Dad got his brain chip in 2010. Worked great. Had nothing to do with neuralink. They've been doing these implants safely for at least that long. The fact that musk can't keep monkeys alive says a lot about the fact that neuralink isn't ready.

That’s fascinating, could you share a manufacturer name? I’d love to look into what kind of brain chips are out there that aren’t from phony stark

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🎵Zuckerberg and Gates and Buffet, amateurs can fuckin’ suck it; fuck their wives, drink their blood 🎵

Come on Jeff, get em!

AAHHHHHHHH

Bro I hate that this song lives rent free in my head. FUCK Bezos but GOD it’s such a bop, I’ll always listen again when it comes up so I can listen again. Time to watch Inside again

To be fair, everyone who doesn't get one will die too

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"Your trial subscription to module: 'breathing' will end in 30 days. If you'd like to continue your subscription please accept the new terms and conditions and link your payment method using the following link."

P.s. I know neuralink cannot do this... Yet

This timeline sucks.

Just wait until everyone's required to get one of these as a condition of employment for most jobs. By the time enough people get pissed off enough about it to try to do something, it'll be too late.

Drug free workplace act? That's old news how about a free will-free workplace.

Oh ffs no near timeline is going to require literal brain surgery for a condition of employment. Why the hell would they want you to be able to look at porn while you work?

I'm sure Musk won't randomly disable any features remotely.

Yeah. Or at least only the ones that use microservices. So... No worries...?

Elon Musk has an excellent track record for remote disabled features.

I would guess, and this is completely a guess, these are Elon fans who think that the vaccines were dangerous and had microchips in them.

Everyone needs to read about the poor monkeys in these trials.

Horrific.

It does not surprise me that muskrats would sign up for this. Theyre basically brainwashed anyway so a chip wouldnt really change much.

We... at least I learnt about this in school. Its called natural selection.

Hooo boii. I just cannot wait till we can't sleep because Muskrat keeps appearing in our dreams, trying to convince us that he is a cool memer.

No way in hell would I do that. I can't think of a worse technology to be an earlier adopter on.

Welcome, to the latest episode of Evolution In Action!

Today’s contestants will attempt to survive having foreign objects inserted into their braincases!

But first, a word from our sponsors.

Ah, natural selection. I don't wish death upon any of these people, but I certainly won't be surprised when they start dropping like flies (or the countless monkeys in the trials).

I'd be in line myself of it wasn't for a few key things.

Successful trials

Elon's history on fucking with shit for his own entertainment and/or personal gain

You know this will be connected to the internet to work

I can't wait for basic human functions to be subscription based.

"Your brain chip must call home every three days or neural activity will be haulted"

Imagine you're in the middle of driving somewhere and your brain needs to update

Eh, someday we're going to have safe, powerful cybernetic implants and it'll be because some people were willing to be test subjects. I'm not willing to be a test subject myself but I'm glad that other people are.

With the way corporations are behaving with our electronic devices, I wouldn't trust any of them with my body.

"Before you enjoy your mid-afternoon nap, a word from several of our sponsors. Please close your eyes for optimal viewing experience"

"Having trouble sleeping? Try our new Sleep-all pills, for a long night of rest and relaxation!" - advertised after waking you from your sleep

We already have what classifies as "cybernetic implants": pacemakers, brain implants to combat parkinson's disease, etc.

We need medical technology to advance. What we don't need is a bird brain (no offense to birds) touting a technology that will bring a solution for a problem that does not exist.

Synchron has already implanted the device in four patients in Australia who have been able to use the brain implant to send messages on WhatsApp and shop online.

Ahh, consumerism at its finest.

I can see 2024 headlines: "Neuralink test subjects try to crash into pedestrians or blow up before reaching space. Workers implanted the wrong chips due to time pressure from the CEO"

AKA thousands of people are so terminally stupid that even such an implant cannot cause any damage to already f-uped brain remains.

If I was paralyzed in all four limbs, I'd be pretty desperate to try a solution like this. Not surprising these people are lining up.

Even then, or even especially then I would be careful not to sacrifice what is still left. Imagine being paralysed and brainbroken. Still technically alive, but now with mental damages, too.

And in the end, you never know what their actual agenda is...

Didn’t realize so many people have already had lobotomies.

Man I'd love to get this if literally anyone else was behind it, I always wanted to be a cyborg.

I would not trust anything that isn't FOSS hardware in this space. Stuff like your phone is one thong, but something that directly connects to your brain? Like, your actual being? Yeah, no, I'd rather keep it as independent and autonomous as possible from the grips of capitalism.

The best part of ShadowRun's dystopian future: the cyberware.

The moment this becomes widespread you know there are going to be people figuring out how to jailbreak the chips. I'm down for the idea of cybernetics but no way would I get any kind of implant even capable of a wireless connection.

This is how the zombie apocalypse begins.. loads crossbow...

I feel like the overlap of people willing to have a chip inserted in their brain and people willing to wear a MAGA hat is significantly non-zero.

Jokes on them. They could have gotten a free Microsoft 5G chip via the vaccine like I did.

A venn diagram would show they’re all trump supporters as well. 🤣