Elon Musk's brain implant announcement compared to a 'sci-fi horror game'

Elon Musk has announced that Neuralink has attached an implant into a person’s brain for the first time, and the internet has a lot to say about it.

Neuralink has long hoped to build a brain-computer interface that can work with human brains to allow them to interact with machines using just their thoughts.

Before now, the system had only been tested on animals. However, Musk has said that the first person has been fitted with an implant for the first time.

“The first human received an implant from Neuralink yesterday and is recovering well,” he wrote on Twitter/X.

He added: “Initial results show promising neuron spike detection.”

The post from Musk sparked a big reaction from social media users, many of which referred to films like The Matrix to refer to the potentially huge scientific development.

As well as joking about the development, many also highlighted the possible benefits to people who may suffer from accessibility issues in the future.

Neuralink was formed in 2016 and last year it announced it was recruiting for the first human trial, saying it suggested it was looking for people who “have quadriplegia due to cervical spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)”.

DJ Seo, co-founder and vice president for engineering of Neuralink told Bloomberg at the time: "The short-term goal of the company is to build a generalised brain interface and restore autonomy to those with debilitating neurological conditions and unmet medical needs."

"Then, really, the long-term goal is to have this available for billions of people and unlock human potential and go beyond our biological capabilities."

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