Editor’s Note: The human brain has long been the blueprint for artificial intelligence (AI)…
Neural networks in particular have been designed to mimic the structure, function, and connectivity of our brains.
These incredible AI systems have humanlike powers of pattern detection… but can retain substantially more information. And when unleashed on the markets, a well-trained neural network can pick up on patterns invisible to humans.
That’s how Brownstone’s own proprietary neural network – called the Perceptron – picked up on something extraordinary in the crypto market… a pattern of 60-day windows of profitability that can deliver huge gains… if you know when to act.
And next Wednesday, September 25, and 8 p.m. ET, Jeff’s holding a special event where he’ll explain all about the Perceptron and these 60-day profit windows… plus, three cryptos that it’s flashing buy signals on… just go here to sign up.
“The future of communication is brain-computer interfaces. With the tools of this new technological revolution, we can make human life better.”
— Stephen Hawking
Before his spinal cord injury, Alex was an automotive technician.
Alex enjoyed fixing and building things… until his injury left him paralyzed. He lost all movement and had very limited ability to interact digitally through assistive devices…
That is until Neuralink came into the picture.
Last month, the team at Neuralink implanted Alex – the second patient to receive Neuralink’s implant – at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona. The surgery went well, and Alex was able to return home the day after.
But life wasn’t the same – not even close.
Within five minutes of connecting to his computer at home using Neuralink’s technology, he was wirelessly controlling – only with his thoughts – a cursor on a screen, using software designed by Neuralink (Webgrid).
Alex controlling a cursor with his thoughts using Webgrid | Source: Neuralink
Alex then went on to break the previous world record for brain-computer interface cursor control – on his first day of using Neuralink’s technology.
That was just the first day.
On the second day, Alex used computer-aided design software – Fusion 360 – to design and 3D print a custom mount for his Neuralink charger at home. Alex hopes to design products using the software and turn them into reality.
If that’s not impressive enough, Alex is now using the software to play Counter-Strike, a popular first-person shooter game with complex controls.
Previously, he could only play using an assistive device known as a Quadstick, which is a mouth-operated joystick. But gameplay was limited because Alex could only aim/shoot or move at any given time, he couldn’t do both.
With Neuralink, in his own words:
Just running around is so enjoyable because I can look side to side, and not need to move Quadstick left and right… I can [think about where to] look and it goes where I want it to. It’s insane.
Alex Playing Counter-Strike | Source: Neuralink
It’s worth repeating that all of this is possible for Alex just by using his thoughts. He just thinks what he wants to do, and it happens.
And Alex is just the second implant recipient.
Neuralink is already working on improving the technology to the point where a user can have complete control over a game – for example, clicking multiple times and engaging in multiple movements simultaneously like running, aiming, and shooting at the same time.
How is this even possible?
It is a learning process.
Neuralink’s AI has to learn how to decode a user’s thoughts so that it can understand the desired action in any piece of software. This would be impossible without employing artificial intelligence.
This is obviously a process, and with only two patients with implants, data collection for training is slow at the moment. But the technology has already been proven to be safe, effective, and improving at an impressive pace.
And it’s not just Neuralink that’s making progress.
Synchron, a Melbourne, Australia-founded company that also has an office in New York, announced earlier this month that it had implanted its technology into six patients with severe paralysis. The current study is being conducted in the U.S.
It’s a small study with 12 months of monitoring and follow-up, with a full report expected in the fourth quarter of next year.
Synchron is primarily focused on testing for the safety of the device – the goal being to implant the device into the blood vessels of the brain.
It is also testing for the ability to detect and transmit motor intent from the brain, wirelessly, to control software.
So far, the results have been positive. Synchron’s technology has enabled those with the implant to engage in texting, e-mailing, online banking and shopping, and other forms of digital communications. For anyone with severe paralysis, this technology is life-changing.
And from the results of an earlier trial with four patients in Australia, a 12-month follow-up showed that the implant did not cause any neurological problems, clots, or movement of the implant in the patient’s brain.
I know that these developments probably feel like science fiction. And it was just a few years ago. But it’s happening right now.
And it’s about to get even more incredible.
Yesterday, the team at Neuralink announced that it had just received Breakthrough Device Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a new product – Blindsight.
As the name implies, its purpose is to restore sight to those who have lost it.
In Musk’s own words…
It’s worth noting the last point that Musk made – that the Blindsight device has the potential to improve beyond the capabilities of natural vision with the addition of additional sensor inputs.
Just imagine what it would be like for someone who has lost their sight, or never had it before, to be empowered with a form of “super”-vision.
It would be something similar to what was envisioned with the VISOR (short for Visual Input Sensory Organ Replacement) from Star Trek, the device that allowed Geordi La Forge to see in ways normal vision wouldn’t allow, despite being blind from birth.
The progress that the team at Neuralink continues to make is a leap ahead of Synchron and another competitor, Precision Neurosciences. This is especially ironic, considering much of the neuroscience industry scoffed and criticized Musk and the team at Neuralink in years past.
The short-term benefits of these technological advancements are obvious. Help those who have severe injury or disease resulting in paralysis be able to communicate freely and interact in the digital world. And for those without sight, enable them to see.
And not surprisingly, there is an even bigger mission defined by Musk for Neuralink.
In the case of SpaceX, it’s not just about sending payloads to low-Earth orbit cheaply. Or getting astronauts to the moon.
SpaceX is solving for a much grander problem: It’s about enabling the human race to become a multi-planetary species.
For Neuralink, Musk says that, “ultimately the goal of Neuralink is to have a high-bandwidth interface in order to mitigate the risk of a digital superintelligence.”
A high-bandwidth, brain-computer interface – designed to augment a healthy person – to enhance our abilities to interface with an advanced computing system – still is science fiction.
This kind of human augmentation may feel unsettling. It may evoke images of the Borg from Star Trek or a frightening episode of Black Mirror.
But whether it feels uncomfortable or not, human augmentation isn’t new. We’ve been doing it for decades.
The first artificial heart was implanted in 1982.
The first clinically successful cardiac pacemaker was in 1960.
By July 2022, more than 1 million cochlear implants had been implanted worldwide, to enable patients to hear.
Three million Americans have dental implants – a number growing by 500,000 each year. Dental implants are artificial teeth made of titanium and zirconia (a biocompatible ceramic), as well as other polymers. The artificial teeth are screwed into the jawbone.
The global dental implant market was nearly $5 billion in 2023…
Is it really such a stretch to believe that we’ll use implant technology like Neuralink in the near future?
Especially if it’s shown to improve the human ability to interface with computing systems.
How many millions of people would love to be able to just “think” and make things happen?
The Bleeding Edge is the only free newsletter that delivers daily insights and information from the high-tech world as well as topics and trends relevant to investments.
The Bleeding Edge is the only free newsletter that delivers daily insights and information from the high-tech world as well as topics and trends relevant to investments.
