We already knew there were problems at Elon Musk’s brain-computer interface startup, Neuralink. Internally, employees have warned of chaos, as they say Musk is pushing for overly ambitious goals. Externally, experts say Musk’s superficial promises gloss over the profound challenges that stand in the way of a commercial brain implant for humans, and downplay the profound ethical questions that will arise if it succeeds.
Elon Musk Sacrifices 1,500 Animals for His Neuralink Project Ambitions
Another problem loomed from the start: criticism of the way the company treats its animal test subjects. Now, a bombshell article from Reuters reports that those concerns have been significantly exacerbated in the form of a federal investigation into animal welfare at the company by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s inspector general, at the request of a federal prosecutor.
Reuters’s report appears comprehensive, drawing on what the news agency calls interviews with numerous current and former Neuralink employees at a “time of growing employee dissent over Neuralink’s animal testing.”
Reuters’s report appears comprehensive, drawing on what the news agency calls interviews with numerous current and former Neuralink employees at a “time of growing employee dissent over Neuralink’s animal testing.”
The specific allegations are grim, with Reuters reporting that Neuralink has killed about 1,500 animals since 2018, including 280 sheep, pigs and monkeys. It’s unclear how many animals specifically have died after being implanted with the company’s prototype brain chip, which Musk said this week he plans to implant in human subjects within six months, but it was previously reported that 21 percent of his monkeys had died due to problems with the devices.
Sources told Reuters that many mistakes that jeopardize animal welfare are avoidable. For example, employees told the outlet that the company botched surgery on two pigs when it implanted their chips into the wrong vertebra, prompting the company veterinarian to recommend killing one of the animals because of its “poor psychological well-being.”
Worse, employees told Reuters that mistakes that led to animal deaths were sometimes exacerbated by Musk pushing the company to work faster than was safe. One employee vented to colleagues in a message obtained by Reuters that the company’s work on animals was “hack work.” The outlet reported that numerous employees raised concerns internally, and some left the company altogether, over concerns about how animals were being treated.
Another detail reported in the article smacked of a nasty retroactive approach to scientific literature: After Musk described the company’s approach to surgery as “confirmatory, not exploratory,” company researchers were reportedly asked to retroactively remove the word “exploratory” from study titles and avoid using it in the future.
Neuralink’s problems with the perception of its animal testing have been brewing for some time. PETA has spoken out against the company, and there is currently a legal battle underway to obtain photos of monkeys Neuralink has experimented on at the University of California, Davis.
A federal investigation, however, plus what appears to be growing resentment at the company over Musk’s dictatorial management style, could be a rapidly darkening shadow over the already strained corporate enterprise. The drama also comes as Musk faces stiff challenges at his newly acquired social media site, Twitter, as well as delays at SpaceX and a series of problems at Tesla.
Four anonymous sources told Reuters that SpaceX and Neuralink founder Elon Musk have approached experimental brain interface startup Synchron about possible investment.
While it’s unclear whether Musk wants to collaborate on brain chips or whether he’s hoping to get more involved in the company, the conversations are notable because Musk has his own, much better-funded venture called Neuralink that’s trying to build similar technology. Even more juicy: Reuters reports that he’s frustrated with Neuralink’s slow progress compared to its upstart competitor Synchron.
Musk has plenty to be upset about. Synchron beat Neuralink in human trials, while Neuralink has been accused of abusing brain-hacked monkeys, and its employees have said Musk’s leadership has been chaotic and ineffective. To make matters worse, Neuralink’s co-founder invested in Synchron this year.
Musk did not raise any complaints about employees or slow progress when he contacted Synchron founder and CEO Thomas Oxley this week, Reuters reported, but the details of what was discussed remain a mystery.
To be fair, Synchron’s technology, which was first implanted in a human patient in 2019 , works differently than Neuralink’s, threading a sensor array through an artery rather than implanting it in the skull. However, a potential partnership or investment deal could shake up the dynamics of the nascent industry.
While we don’t know what Musk wants from Synchron, it’s clear that they’re ahead of the curve in the brain-computer interface game so far.
Neuralink, by contrast, has lagged behind. In 2019, Musk said he wanted to get regulatory approval by the end of 2020. In late 2021, he said he wanted to begin human trials in 2022. So far, no Neuralink unit has been implanted in a human patient.
If Musk can’t turn things around due to allegations and internal problems, as was the case with six of the company’s eight co-founders jumping ship, it may be more than the beleaguered CEO can handle.
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