During his introduction via livestream on YouTube on August 28, Musk said that the neural, computer-brain interface system includes a chip that looks like a small Fitbit watch face and wires about 5 microns thick –

The pig’s brain waves were recorded by Neuralink’s system.

The electrodes in the system will read or record brain activity through sensing or stimulation from nerve cells.

In addition, Neuralink has also developed a robot that performs surgery to place the chip under the skull, inserting the wire into the brain without damaging blood vessels, brain cells and wires.

What can Neuralink’s chip do?

At the livestream, Musk announced that the technology developed by Neuralink can create `symbiosis` between the human mind and computers;

`Yes, everything is looking more and more like the movie Black Mirror,` Musk said.

However, scientists evaluate that Neuralink’s system is far from achieving the superhuman features that Musk said.

Neuralink’s system is about the size of a coin.

According to a video livestreamed on YouTube last weekend, a pig named Gertrude was fitted with a system developed by Neuralink to record signals linking from one area of the brain to the snout.

Musk said the chip implantation was initially planned to be performed on three pigs, Joyce, Dorothy and Gertrude.

In the test, when Gertrude’s snout sniffed or touched an object, a series of dots and noises appeared on the screen.

Besides, Musk also showed off a video previously recorded on a treadmill.

Neuralink has been evaluated by the US Food and Drug Administration as a `breakthrough device`.

Musk’s system can determine the activity of the pig’s feet through brain waves.

Neuralink’s system is based on inheritance

Some scientists, after watching Musk’s demo, thought that Neuralink’s system was exaggerated.

According to Shepherd, Neuralink’s system is built on the inheritance of results that neuroscientists and biological engineers have been working on for decades, for example, robotic arms controlled by thoughts.

`If you just watched Musk’s presentation at the livestream, you would think he and Neuralink created this miracle themselves. But in fact, he copied and applied many research results from many laboratories.

Some other scientists were impressed by the machine used to perform surgery and insert Neuralink’s system into the brain.

Currently, many researchers and technology startups are working on chip systems implanted in the brain.

First, it is extremely difficult to insert materials into the human brain for a long time without causing the person implanted with the chip to become infected or lose vision.

Besides, the system implanted in the brain must be equipped with a chip that reads data fast enough;

Additionally, brain systems may encounter additional security, privacy, political, legal, and ethical barriers.