Last week, we looked at Elon Musk’s Neuralink Corporation and the computer chips he plans to begin implanting in the brains of human test subjects as soon as next year. These types of medical advancements offer the possibility of dramatic improvements in the lives of some patients, particularly those with significant physical disabilities. But they also raise serious questions about the future of mankind and if we’re on our way to becoming a species of cyborgs.
That was on my mind when I began reading a new report from the journal Nature on the subject of patients with advanced electrical implants. The study examines some of the successes that have been achieved through this technology, but also raises the specter of what happens to patients when the companies developing these implants abandon their development projects. We are introduced to a patient named Markus Möllmann-Bohle. He has an implant in his cheek containing six electrodes that mesh with his nerve fibers. Using a remote device, he is able to shock a bundle of nerve cells and ward off crippling cluster headaches that have plagued him for many years and he uses the device multiple times per day. But what happens if the company that created the device (ATI) goes under?
But, by the end of 2019, ATI had collapsed. The company’s closure left Möllmann-Bohle and more than 700 other people alone with a complex implanted medical device. People using the stimulator and their physicians could no longer access the proprietary software needed to recalibrate the device and maintain its effectiveness. Möllmann-Bohle and his fellow users now faced the prospect of the battery in the hand-held remote wearing out, robbing them of the relief that they had found. “I was left standing in the rain,” Möllmann-Bohle says.
The report lists a large number of companies that all went out of business over the past decade after implanting medical devices in thousands of patients. They ranged from spinal cord stimulators to retinal implants that restored the vision of the blind. The majority of those patients were left with devices in their bodies that eventually failed. Most of the devices are left in place because it’s either too expensive or risky to remove them. They generally don’t cause additional medical issues.
But those devices are located in parts of the body that are more accessible. If Mr. Möllmann-Bohle wanted to have the device removed from his cheek it probably wouldn’t be all that challenging for a surgeon. Elon Musk’s device will literally be inside a person’s brain. So what happens if Neuralink goes bust or the device simply fails? Not being a doctor, I can’t make any sort of prediction about this, but even as a layman I would wager that your doctor would like to keep the number of brain surgeries you undergo to a minimum.
The current version of the device will allegedly allow people with paralysis to operate phones, computers, and other devices with their minds. Yes, that sounds like something out of a science fiction movie, but it supposedly works. If the device fails, I suppose they just return to the way their lives were before receiving the implant. But the process to install it is complex. A medical robot is used (also supplied by Neuralink) that carves out a hole in the person’s skull and then implants the device.
That sounds pretty serious to me, and not something you’d want to undergo too often. If this technology can actually allow paralyzed patients the freedom to communicate with the world without assistance, that would be a remarkable feat and I’m sure many would sign up for it. I certainly couldn’t blame them.
But it’s also worth noting that Musk has repeatedly claimed that he plans to get an implant himself and there’s nothing physically wrong with him. He just wants to see how far mankind might be able to advance in this direction. That brings us back to the original question. How many of you would actually volunteer to become a cyborg if your current human body is functioning nominally? I still think I’ll have to take a pass on this.
