Many experts and former workers are skeptical about SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's brain-computer interface business Neuralink, which he claims to represent the future of human-technology interactions.
Musk's vision of linking human brains to computers has alarmed researchers and experts. Finally, the integration of Big Tech into the human psyche is at the root of their apprehension.
Dr. Karola Kreitmair, assistant professor of medical history and bioethics at the University of Wisconsin, told The Daily Beast: "I don't think there is sufficient public discourse on what the big picture implications of this kind of technology becoming available are."
"I worry that there's this uncomfortable marriage between a company that is for-profit," she added.
Scientists Concerned Over Elon Musk's Neuralink Brain Implants
Experts say the ethical implications of technologies like Neuralink are unknown. As a result, many people are concerned about how these goods, allegedly designed to assist people with disabilities, might be exploited for profit in the long run.
Dr. L. Syd Johnson, associate professor at SUNY Upstate Medical University's Center for Bioethics and Humanities, said per Daily Star that there could be a much, much larger market if Neuralink's ultimate goal is to use the acquired brain data for other devices or use these devices for other things.
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According to Johnson, human study subjects for individuals with legitimate needs are exploited and employed in unsafe research for someone else's financial benefit.
Some analysts believe Musk is little more than a carnival barker who will say anything and go to any length to earn a profit. He's been known to make grandiose promises in the past, only to fall well short of them.
Dr. Laura Cabrera, a Penn State neuroethics researcher, described Futurism that these firms and their proprietors were "showmen." According to Cabrera, these firms make these exaggerated yet harmful statements because some individuals trust them without question.
Neuralink Ex-Employees Say Elon Musk Imposes Pressure, Instills a Culture of Blame Among Workers
Meanwhile, according to a half-dozen former workers contacted by Fortune, the firm has been facing internal issues. Several key members of the company's founding team resigned in no little part due to Musk's pressure cooker mentality.
These former workers said that Musk had put the firm under constant pressure to reach unreasonable deadlines. Even though the workers were advancing at record rates, a former member of Neuralink's technical team who worked there in 2019 said there was this top-down discontent with the pace of advancement. The ex-employee said Elon Musk was still unsatisfied with the outcomes. Multiple individuals claim that corporate policy, mandated by Musk, prohibited employees from blaming outside suppliers or vendors for delays and that the person in charge of that connection was responsible for any missed deadlines, including those outside their control.
Former employees said they were frequently worried about offending Musk by failing to fulfill his lofty timetables. Another former employee claims that "everyone in that entire empire is basically motivated by fear," referring to Musk's enterprises, including Neuralink. Former employees said that the blame and fear culture led to the high turnover rate. Only two of the eight scientists Musk hired to help him launch Neuralink, Dongjin Seo and Paul Merolla, remain at the firm.
Engineers were occasionally forced to judge issues like electrode design before relevant data from animal research teams became available. Animal studies can take months or even years; the engineers had to act in days or weeks. According to one former employee, delays were also caused by Neuralink's requirement to produce custom-designed computer chips. On the other hand, Musk was eager to get into human implantation as soon as possible.
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