Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's brain chip start-up released footage on Friday appearing to show a monkey playing a simple video game after being implanted with the new technology.
The three-minute video by Neuralink shows Pager, a male macaque with chips embedded on each side of his brain, playing Mind Pong. Although he was trained to move a joystick, it is now unplugged. He controls the paddle simply by thinking about moving his hand up or down.
"Later versions will be able to shunt signals from Neuralinks in brain to Neuralinks in body motor or sensory neuron clusters, thus enabling, for example, paraplegics to walk again. The device is implanted flush with the skull and charges wirelessly, so you look and feel totally normal."
Neuralink works by recording and decoding electrical signals from the brain using more than 2,000 electrodes implanted in regions of the monkey's motor cortex that co-ordinate hand and arm movements, according to an informational video released by the company.
"Using these data, we calibrate the decoder by mathematically modelling the relationship between patterns of neural activity and the different joystick movements they produce."
Co-founded by Mr Musk in 2016, San Francisco-based Neuralink aims to use wireless brain computer chips to help cure neurological conditions like Alzheimer's and dementia as well as spinal cord injuries, fusing humankind with artificial intelligence.
Mr Musk seemed taken aback by the company's revelations on Friday, tweeting "a monkey is literally playing a video game telepathically using a brain chip!"
He also posted a Twitter thread detailing future steps that Neuralink could take with this technology.
In August 2020, Mr Musk unveiled a pig sporting a Neuralink chip implant, describing it as "a Fitbit in your skull".
Mr Musk has a history of bringing together diverse experts to develop technology previously limited to academic labs, including rockets and electrical vehicles, through companies such as Tesla and SpaceX.
Further showing his excitement, Mr Musk also joked that the monkey will soon be featured on gaming platforms like Twitch.
UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
Meghan%20podcast
%3Cp%3EMeghan%20Markle%2C%20the%20wife%20of%20Prince%20Harry%2C%20launched%20her%20long-awaited%20podcast%20Tuesday%2C%20with%20tennis%20megastar%20Serena%20Williams%20as%20the%20first%20guest.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20Duchess%20of%20Sussex%20said%20the%2012-part%20series%2C%20called%20%22Archetypes%2C%22%20--%20a%20play%20on%20the%20name%20of%20the%20couple's%20oldest%20child%2C%20Archie%20--%20would%20explore%20the%20female%20experience.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ELast%20year%20the%20couple%20told%20Oprah%20Winfrey%20that%20life%20inside%20%22The%20Firm%22%20had%20been%20miserable%2C%20and%20that%20they%20had%20experienced%20racism.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%22I%20don't%20ever%20remember%20personally%20feeling%20the%20negative%20connotation%20behind%20the%20word%20ambitious%2C%20until%20I%20started%20dating%20my%20now-husband%2C%22%20she%20told%20the%20tennis%20champion.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Richard Jewell
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Brandon Stanley
Two-and-a-half out of five stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
