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Elon Musk predicted a future where a human with a chip-enhanced brain can defeat a professional video-game player is not far off. <\/p>\n
In an episode of Lex Fridman\u2019s podcast<\/a> that was posted on Friday, Musk pointed to his Neuralink start-up, which implanted a chip into someone\u2019s brain earlier this year<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe feel pretty confident that in the next year or two, someone with a Neuralink implant would be able to outperform a pro gamer because the reaction time would be faster,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In March, Neuralink said the first human to have a chip implanted in his brain is a quadriplegic, who gained the ability to play video games using his mind<\/a>.<\/p>\n Looking even further into the future, Musk said Friday that the long-term goal of Neuralink is to improve AI-human symbiosis by increasing a person\u2019s capacity to communicate at high volume.<\/p>\n Without such an enhancement, AI will get \u201cbored\u201d waiting for people to communicate at a few bits per second while AI can do it at terabits per second, he explained, adding \u201cIt\u2019s like talking to a tree.\u201d<\/p>\n But he stressed that Neuralink\u2019s first order of business is to address damaged neurons in the spinal cord, neck or brain, like the company\u2019s first patients.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re just starting with the basics here, the simple stuff, relatively speaking is solving neuron damage,\u201d Musk said.<\/p>\n But once the risks of having Neuralink brain implants are proven to be low, after thousands of people have been using them for years, then perhaps the company could aim for \u201caugmentation\u201d of people without neurological issues, he added.<\/p>\n In fact, Neuralink already plans to augment people with neuron damage, giving them a \u201ccommunication data rate\u201d that exceeds what humans typically have.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile we\u2019re in there, why not? Let\u2019s give people superpowers,\u201d Musk said.<\/p>\n Similarly, Neuralink could improve human vision, eventually building on its Blindsight product for restoring sight. At first, it would provide low-resolution images, but over time the resolution could be higher than what humans have today, with the product even enabling vision in different parts of the spectrum like ultraviolet or infrared, he explained.<\/p>\n In February, Musk claimed progress on Neuralink\u2019s first patient<\/a> and last month said his start-up had plans to implant a chip in a second patient. On Friday, he told Fridman the second implant has occurred and was \u201cso far so good.\u201d<\/p>\n Representatives for Neuralink didn\u2019t immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n Roughly the size of a quarter, Neuralink\u2019s N1\u00a0brain-computer interface<\/a> is designed to both record and transmit neural activity with the help of over 1,000 electrodes distributed across dozens of different filaments, each thinner than a human hair.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\nRecommended Newsletter:<\/strong> The Fortune Next to Lead newsletter is a must-read for the next generation of C-suite leaders. Every Monday, the newsletter provides the strategies, resources, and expert insight needed to claim the most coveted positions in business. Subscribe now<\/a>.<\/div>\n