Neuralink and BCI's: Cognitive Enhancement Strategies

Recent advances in neuroscience have paved the way to innovative applications that cognitively augment and enhance humans in a variety of contexts (Cinel, Valeriani and Poli 2019, Dresler, Sandberg and Repantis 2019). This article aims to provide a summary of current and developing variations of neuroscience technologies. One widely used and cited definition characterizes enhancements as innovations that aim to improve mental functioning beyond what is necessary to restore good health (Juengst 1998). The current bioethical debate on cognitive enhancement is strongly based and focused on pharmacological ways of enhancement (Dresler, Sandberg and Repantis 2019). BCIs are often directed at researching, mapping, assisting, augmenting, enhancing or repairing human cognitive functions (Krucoff 2016). Cognitive enhancement is commonly associated with the use of devices to improve cognition (Dubljevic and Krafo 2015). One approach to identifying cognitive enhancers is to identify pathways involved in learning in order to develop activators specific for that pathway (Nelson and Alkon 2015). When these pathways are activated, brain abilities can be optimised.

According to Market Watch (2020), amidst a global pandemic and concerted antitrust scrutiny, the Big Tech quartet in regulator’s insight are only getting bigger (Poletti 2020). With more people staying at home and relying on digital platforms for everyday life, Alphabet Inc, Facebook Inc, and Apple Inc’s stocks in after- hours trading gained and pushed toward a combined market cap increase of more than US $200 billion. This mirrors that people are spending more time and money in personal technology such as smart speakers, smartwatches and wearables plus VR, AR and AI equipment. As technology becomes more commonplace in our daily lives, there is even more Human-AI intimate connections on the rise with the invention stages of the brain-computer interface (BCI), which involve an implanted neural prosthesis that replaces or enhances nerves to improve communication between the brain’s motor centers and lower limbs (Fan 2020). For the moment, most BCIs that require a surgical procedure are mainly used to give speech back to those with disabilities or decode visual signals (Golembewski 2020). The brain regions that support these mentioned functions are at the surface (Nelson and Alkon 2015), making them more accessible and easier to decode. BCI’s have the potential to amplify human intelligence to superhuman levels, which is an optimistic standpoint and way forward for both technologists and entrepreneurs (Golembewski 2020).

Invasive BCI

BCIs fall into two categories: invasive and non-invasive. The BCI is sometimes called the neural control interface (NCI), mind-machine interface (MMI), direct neural interface (DNI) or brain-machine interface (BMI). It is a direct communication pathway between enhanced brain and technological devices (Bird, Ekart, Birmingham and Faria 2019, Krucoff, Rahimpour, Switzky, Edgerton, Reggie and Dennis 2016). As mentioned before, BCIs have been said to have the potential to amplify human intelligence to superhuman levels. Invasive BCIs such as Neuralink, require a brain surgery whereby doctors drill into the skull to implant the device and high precision surgery robots correctly attach microscopic electrodes to neurons (Golembewski 2020). Invasive BCIs (Miranda and Sanchez 2019), can be implanted in various regions of the brain. These capture better data (Emondi 2021), and can be effective in treating spinal and injuries, controlling prosthetic limbs and treating depression (Miranda and Sanchez 2019, Emondi 2021, Mayberg 2018).

At a simple level, a single-user BCI is usually composed by a signal acquisition module, a feature extraction module, a decision module (Valeriani and Fernandes 2018), allowing control of computers or external devices with regulation of brain activity alone (Birbaumer 2006). Humans controlling machines with their minds emulates a synopsis for a science fiction work (Norris 2020). However, it is becoming a reality through BCI’s. Understanding this emerging and ever improving technology at the moment will aid in ensuring that effective policies are placed before the time in which BCI becomes a part of everyday life (Dresler, Sandberg and Repantis 2019). When existing and potential BCI tools that vary in terms of accuracy and invasiveness were analyzed, it was found that two qualities correlate (Norris 2020). The greater the proximity of an electrode to the brain, the stronger the signal- this is very much like a cerebral cell phone tower. Non-invasive BCI tools such as helmets or head caps worn close to the head to track brain activity can be placed and removed easily, but their signals may be muffled and impressive. An invasive BCI would require surgery as mentioned before, electronic devices implanted beneath the skull, directly into the brain, targeting specific sets of neurons. The BCI implants under development are small in size and are able to engage up to a million neurons at once. For example, a research team at the University of California (Golembewski 2020, Norris 2020) has created implantable sensors roughly the size of a grain of sand. These sensors are termed “Neurodust”. Invasive methods would result in a much clearer and more accurate signal travelling between the brain and the device (Cinel, Valeriani and Poli 2019). However, as with any surgery, the procedures required to implant them would come with health risks (Norris 2020).

When it comes to human-computer interaction (HCI), this can be described as the point of communication between the human user and a computer (Fan 2020). Elon Musk’s Neuralink has gained a lot of traction in the past year (Golembewski 2020), the internal part of the Neuralink’s technology is et to communicate wirelessly with a receiver on the outside of the skull that can then transmit thought based input to computers when the device’s development goals are reached (Etherington 2020). Neuralink, Elon Musk’s BCI startup, demonstrated the implanted brain device reading and writing information into the brain of a sow in late August 2020 (Morris 2020). However, neurologists were skeptical about Musk’s Neuralink brain implant startup. One of the reasons for this skepticism was the little discussion of how the company would make sense of brain activity. Other researchers however, praised Neuralink’s work as showing significant refinement to existing technology (Norris 2020, Fan 2020). One of the goals for the demonstration was to increase interest in BCIs in order to advance Neurology and hardware. Musk also stated that human trials by Neuralink would begin by the end of 2020, with the aim of treating people who have severe neurological disorders.

Most BCIs are still in the infant stages of development, being researched and funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Army Research Lab, the Air Force Research Laboratory and other organisations in order to be of military use. Aside from this, BCI technologies could also provide major medical benefits. For example, implanted electrodes could improve memory for people dealing with Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, or head injuries.

As with any emerging technology, BCI carries many risks and unknown predicaments. For example (Norris 2020), advanced BCI technology could be used to reduce pain and regulate emotions. The question is, what happens, for example when, military personnel are sent into battle with a reduced sense of fear? And once they return home, what psychological side effects might veterans experience without their “superhuman traits”? When an individual lives with a cognitive enhancement BCI (such as the Neuralink) for a long time, what state shall that individual be in, once the computer brain chip is removed? Now is the perfect time to contemplate on the answers to these questions.

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©Keren Obara May 2021