This was to be an important event for Neuralink. The neurotechnology startup wanted to hold its big “show & tell” event on October 31st. Finally, you will have to be patient.
Elon Musk announced it this weekend on Twitter, this meeting is postponed to November 30. The contractor did not provide any additional information to justify this postponement. The last time Neuralink organized an event, it made a strong impression, and the general public was thus marked by the images of this monkey equipped with a brain chip playing the video game Pong.
Elon Musk and Neuralink play very big
But since then, the Neuralink company has been facing big problems. We recently told you about the fact that the tests on macaques had caused the death of many monkeys, and this in excruciating pain, which had led to a complaint from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, last February.
Moreover, a 600-page university report also highlights the fact that the tests carried out on these animals resulted in chronic infections, epileptic seizures, paralysis and other side effects.
Recall that in 2019, Elon Musk said he wanted to receive regulatory approval in order to be able to conduct chip implantation trials in humans by the end of 2020. This promise was ultimately not followed up, and we are still waiting for this authorization.
Despite these setbacks, Neuralink does not lose hope. Thus, last January a job offer was sent out to recruit a “director of clinical trials”. It remains to obtain the approval of the American authorities, but this is not guaranteed while the suspicions of the scientific community are more and more numerous with regard to the company.
Under these conditions, the November 30 event should prove to be very important for Neuralink’s image. This is how we can interpret this postponement announcement from Elon Musk. He knows that his company is playing very big, and that this meeting will be scrutinized very closely by the American authorities, but also by the general public.
Finally, remember that Neuralink literally sold dreams when it first started. The ultimate goal is thus to cure diseases that are currently very difficult to treat. It is particularly a question of curing spinal cord injuries, or even Parkinson’s and schizophrenia. Suffice to say that the challenge remains major and important for the very many patients who could potentially benefit from it.