The development of a Chinese-made competitor to Elon Musk’s Neuralink systems, a device implanted in the head that enables people to instantly interact with electronics, was covered by Chinese state media on Tuesday.
Although China’s Global Times softly hyped the Chinese Institute for Brain Research’s” Neucyber” device as” China’s type of Neuralink”, the goods on display at a lab in Beijing is far behind Neuralink, having not yet been implanted in a people network.
A “magical picture” featuring a monkey with a Neucyber device causing break signals to sway on a laptop screen was shown to Global Times writers.
The Neucyber Array BMI System, a self- created brain- system software BMI system from China, at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Zhongguancun Forum in Beijing, China on, April 25, 2024. ( Xinhua via Getty Images )
The job directors claimed the chip, which has been implanted in the monkey’s skull for about a year, is also capable of capturing “high-quality signals.” The monkey would then be able to control a robot arm using an algorithm to decipher the brainwaves. If all goes well, researchers hope to start conducting human studies in a year.
The Global Times reported:
The development of the sophisticated algorithms is a step forward in the development of the goal of making more human-like, healthy, and flexible prosthetics for patients in the future. Researchers are about to release scientific papers using Neucyber, which is powered by advanced algorithms, according to the team.
After Musk unveiled the second brain-computer program (BCI) in January, China was undoubtedly fascinated by Neuralink. Within a fortnight, the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology published “ethical rules” to help” medical trials of modern Bi products”.
These “ethical rules” were riddled with avoid provisions and exceptions, giving Chinese experts largely the carte blanche to do whatever it takes to catch up with European professionals, as with everything else the Chinese Communist Party does.
The most grotesquely interesting phrase in China’s social guidelines was that cybernetics that impair human judgment or undermine “human autonomy and self-awareness” should be avoided unless “fully proven to be better to human capabilities.”
The Global Times was convinced that China would be able to gather” better resources” to overtake China and later direct BCI, proud to report that Neucyber was created in less than a month. BCI has been identified as a vital” cutting- edge emerging technology” by the communist regime.
According to industry observers, China still has a chance to industrialize its BCI products before the U.S. because the technology has n’t yet been widely used as medical devices globally, according to the Global Times.
CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images
The Neuralink project has experienced some significant setbacks. Noland Arbaugh, a 30-year-old quadriplegic Noland Arbaugh, was the original patient’s 30-year-old quadriplegic, whose function had decreased by almost 85 percent after the first 100 days because many of its hair-thin electrode threads have allegedly been rejected by his brain tissue.
Arbaugh continues to be a staunch advocate for a second human trial with an implant deeper in the brain, which enabled him to mentally integrate with computers well enough to play video games before his implant began to deteriorate, despite Neuralink’s push for a second human trial. He actually set a world record for precise control of a computer cursor, which should be interesting for Chinese medical ethicists who think restraints on research should be lifted if BCI proves to be” superior to human capabilities.”
Arbaugh has indicated he wants another surgery to repair or replace his implant, even though Neuralink doctors suggested against it, but he still has a much more limited ability to interact with computers.
