this post was submitted on 20 Sep 2023
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A few years ago, I read a really comprehensive article about Neuralink on waitbutwhy.com. Mind you, it's long.
But if I recall correctly, the reason why needles rather than scanning is precision, speed and 2 two-way communication. Needles is a more risky and invasive procedure, but it does allow near instant communication, at the precise neurons you want to target, and it allows to override the signal.
In some cases of paralysis, the signal to move a muscle might be there, but it's just to weak to get anything done. By amplifying it, you fix that problem at the source.
Well, wouldn't that also require manufacturing a unique device for every person using it? In case it becomes commercial.
It's been a few years since I last read it, but from what I recall the devices themselves can be pretty much the same, but it might vary where exactly they "plug in". Also each individual user will have to learn how to use the device. That knowledge gap is supposed to decrease as the technology improves.
Initially it will be used to improve the lives of people with disabilities, but eventually it will be used for direct communication and beyond. For starters, it took me a few minutes to type out this response on my phone, being bottlenecked by my fingers and SwiftKeys insistence that I meant different words. If I could just "think" the words directly into the input ~~fortis~~ field, it would have been much faster.
It would be even faster if you'd use a keyboard on a PDA from early zeroes.
Faster than 1 finger swiping, yes. But not faster than I can think the words.
Imagine how much worse the internet will be when content is created at the speed of everyone's thoughts and not even even the slightest moment to be rethought as they are typed.
Have you every looked at YouTube comments? The difference might be smaller than you think.