Elon Musk’s Neuralink outfit say they’ll stream music directly to your brain
Cortical implants and Brain Machine Interfaces have come along way in just a few years, now Elon Musk says soon you won't need your ears to hear the music ...
Key takeaways
- The process of having the chip fitted will be similar to Lasik laser eye surgery, he added.
- Trials have already been carried out on animals and human trials were originally scheduled to take place this year, though details are yet to be made public, but more information is set to be announced next month.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2020) 'Elon Musk’s Neuralink outfit say they’ll stream music directly to your brain', 311 Institute, 25 July. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/elon-musks-neuralink-outfit-say-theyll-stream-music-directly-to-your-brain/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
Elon Musk announced a long time ago that he wanted to connect humans directly with Artificial Intelligence (AI), which, bearing in mind advances in creating human hive minds is impressive, so he founded Neuralink who began developing an implantable Brain Machine Interface (BMI) which, as it turned out would be autonomously implanted into patients brains by robot.
Now, a couple of years after its founding and about a year after it showed off its basic prototype, the company have announced that their new BMI will also allow wearers to stream music directly to their brain. Personally I thought that’s what ears are for but hey, as a futurist it gives me stuff to write about …
Musk, who also heads SpaceX and Tesla, has said he “will reveal new information” about the mysterious startup next month but has been slowly releasing details over Twitter in recent days.
Responding to computer scientist Austin Howard Musk confirmed that Neuralink’s technology would allow people to “listen to music directly from our chips,” by which he meant the BMI chip in people’s brains. He also said that Neuralink “could help control hormone levels and use them to our advantage (enhanced abilities and reasoning, anxiety relief, etc.).”
Musk also said that the first patients to use the technology will be people suffering from brain diseases like Parkinson’s, while reiterating that the ultimate aim of Neuralink is to allow humans to compete with advanced AI.
The process of having the chip fitted will be similar to Lasik laser eye surgery, he added. One part of it will involve a neurosurgical robot, which fits flexible “threads” into the brain connected to a tiny implantable computer chip.
A research paper detailing the device claims that a single USB-C cable will provide “full-bandwidth data streaming” to the brain.
At the moment Neuralink has 11 job postings listed on its website, offering roles for a mechanical engineer, a robotics software engineer, and a “histology technician,” and over the weekend Musk made a request for people with specific expertise in wearables.
“If you’ve solved hard problems with phones/ wearables (sealing, signal processing, inductive charging, power management, etc.), please consider working at [Neuralink],” he tweeted.
Earlier this month, Musk hinted that Neuralink’s chip will be able to cure depression and addiction by “retraining” the parts of the brain responsible for these afflictions.
Trials have already been carried out on animals and human trials were originally scheduled to take place this year, though details are yet to be made public, but more information is set to be announced next month.
FAQ
Why does this matter?
Cortical implants and Brain Machine Interfaces have come along way in just a few years, now Elon Musk says soon you won't need your ears to hear the music ...
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 15-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
Regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, Matthews mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.
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Sources and further reading
- research paper doi.org
Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 25 July 2020. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2020). Elon Musk’s Neuralink outfit say they’ll stream music directly to your brain. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/elon-musks-neuralink-outfit-say-theyll-stream-music-directly-to-your-brain/
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