Elon Musk is a visionary, and while his decisions are controversial, he is always seeking the next big breakthrough. Like his work at Tesla and SpaceX, Musk aims to revolutionize technology with his various ventures, even if some efforts fall short (looking at you, 'X').
As the owner and founder of Neuralink, a company developing implantable brain-computer interfaces, Musk has been working to help paralyzed individuals perform normal activities. For example, the first Neuralink patient recently played Civilizations using the brain-computer interface. Despite some issues with this patient, Musk remains undeterred.
When he's not banning iPhones from his companies or removing gaming features from Tesla cars, Musk is looking to expand Neuralink's capabilities. According to the Twitter CEO in a recent livestream, Musk hopes Neuralink will enhance brain functionality to the point of giving people superpowers.
Similar to the Oculus founder's Technomancers idea, the notion of Neuralink bestowing superpowers seems far-fetched. We don't expect the technology to grant super strength or speed anytime soon, but if Neuralink can significantly boost brain power, it might technically provide superhuman abilities.
During the livestream, Musk did not specify who or when the second patient will receive a Neuralink implant. However, the company mentioned that the first implant's issues were due to air pockets in the skull. Musk also stated, "It’s not just that we’re restoring your prior brain functionality, but that you actually have functionality far greater than a normal human," adding that he wants to "give people superpowers."
The idea of a product turning ordinary people into superhumans isn't unheard of. The popular superhero-satire show "The Boys" explores this concept with 'Compound-V,' which grants regular people superpowers. However, the show also illustrates the potential dangers of such abilities being misused.
We are eager to see how Musk's plan unfolds. Neuralink was founded eight years ago, and its progress is undeniably exciting. That said, we remain cautious about the implications of granting superhuman abilities to regular (or wealthy) individuals.