Billionaires betting on cyborgs
It’s not only zombies coming for your brain: the billionaires also want a piece of the action. The height of augmented humanity rests between our ears: brain computer interface (BCI). It’s closer to reality than you think and there’s more than one horse in the race. Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates have laid down their money on Synchron, Elon Musk on Neuralink and Peter Theil on Blackrock Neurotech.
Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates
Synchron
Synchron is unique amongst the three BCI companies listed. Unlike neuralink and Blackrock Neurotech, the synchron device (Stentrode) doesn’t require a hole in the skull (there must be a reason why people say ‘I need that like a hole in the head’). Even more importantly, it also doesn’t require a wire to be threaded directly through the neural tissue (making Swiss cheese of the brain itself).
The Stentrode floats up blood vessels, sails into the head and sits in the walls of those vessels in close proximity to the target neurons (brain cells). In 2020, Synchron was granted breakthrough device designation by the FDA and currently enjoys investigational device exemption. The device (still in the investigational stage) has been permanently implanted in several people thus far. As reported here (please click on link below) the Stentrode was the first BCI device that allowed a person to send a text through thought alone.
Elon Musk
Neuralink
The speed at which Elon Musk was transformed from hero of the green movement (for making electric cars cool) to fascist enemy of wokeness (for buying Twitter and limiting censorship) boggles the mind. And it seems like the deep state is pulling out all the stops in their quest to toss him into the abyss. In December, 2022, the US Department of Agriculture and federal prosecutors were investigating his company for animal welfare violations for Neuralink’s treatment of test monkeys. In February, 2023, the US Department of Transportation initiated an investigation of Neuralink for potentially transporting contaminated hardware.
Elon seems to be shrugging off the bad press and has announced and reiterated plans to begin human trials as early as May of 2023.
Peter Theil
Blackrock Neurotech
Far and away, Blackrock Neurotech is the leader of the three companies listed in terms of clinical patient experience. In June, 2022, the company celebrated the completion of their 30,000th patient day. It’s not 100% clear how one calculates a patient day, but the number sure sounds impressive! What’s more, Blackrock Neurotech has racked up a huge number of research and clinical partners (500) including the prestigious Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
