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- Elon Musk’s Neuralink company is under fire for testing its brain chip technology on monkeys.
- Reportedly, 15 of the 23 monkeys used in the experiment died and had to endure “extreme suffering.”
- Read more news about Elon Musk here.
Elon Musk, the man who believes we will all be living side-by-side with cyborgs in the near future, is being criticized for experiments being conducted by his Neuralink company.
Neuralink, a company that has created technology that allows monkeys to control computers with their minds, has been working on developing a chip that can be implanted into humans which will allow people to do things like streaming music directly to their brains.
Musk reported back in December of 2021, “Neuralink’s working well in monkeys, and we’re actually doing just a lot of testing and just confirming that it’s very safe and reliable, and the Neuralink device can be removed safely.”
His stated goal at that time was “to have this in our first humans — which will be people that have severe spinal-cord injuries like tetraplegics, quadriplegics — next year, pending FDA approval.”
Well, it’s next year, and things aren’t exactly on track for Elon Musk’s suggested timeline.
Related: Reminder: Elon Musk Said He’d Have 1 Million Robotaxis On The Road In 2020
An animal-rights group, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PSRM), recently filed an in-depth complaint against Neuralink containing hundreds of pages of health records, necropsy reports and other documents, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
According to the complaint, 15 of the 23 monkeys implanted with Musk’s Neuralink brain chips in experimental trials at the University of California-Davis between 2017 and 2020 died.
Worse, the complaint claims the monkeys had to endure “extreme suffering” and “had their brains mutilated in shoddy experiments and were left to suffer and die.”
The Guardian reports…
PCRM obtained hundreds of pages of health records, necropsy reports and other documents related to the $1.4m partnership through California’s open records laws. It said the documents reveal the monkeys suffered “extreme psychological distress” from the “crude surgeries”.
In the complaint, PCRM said Neuralink used a substance known as “BioGlue” that destroyed parts of the monkeys’ brains. It described animals exhibiting substantial psychological effects from the experiments, including anxiety, vomiting, poor appetite, hair loss and self-mutilating behavior including removing their own fingers.
Neuralink stands accused of abusing monkeys in experiments
The New York Post has further details…
In one example, a monkey was allegedly found missing some of its fingers and toes “possibly from self-mutilation or some other unspecified trauma.” The monkey was later killed during a “terminal procedure,” the group said in a copy of the complaint shared with The Post.
In another case, a monkey had holes drilled in its skull and electrodes implanted into its brain, then allegedly developed a bloody skin infection and had to be euthanized, according to the complaint.
In a third instance, a female macaque monkey had electrodes implanted into its brain, then was overcome with vomiting, retching and gasping. Days later, researchers wrote that the animal “appeared to collapse from exhaustion/fatigue” and was subsequently euthanized. An autopsy then showed the monkey had suffered from a brain hemorrhage, according to the report.
“Pretty much every single monkey that had had implants put in their head suffered from pretty debilitating health effects,” said Jeremy Beckham, the PCRM research advocacy director. “They were, frankly, maiming and killing the animals.”
PCRM claims Neuralink has violated the Animal Welfare Act asked that both Neuralink and University of California-Davis be given the “maximum civil penalty available per violation.”
Neuralink denied the claims in a statement made on the company’s blog.
“Recent articles have raised questions around Neuralink’s use of research animals at the University of California, Davis Primate Center,” the statement begins. “It is important to note that these accusations come from people who oppose any use of animals in research. Currently, all novel medical devices and treatments must be tested in animals before they can be ethically trialed in humans. Neuralink is not unique in this regard.”
It closed, “We also look forward to a day where animals are no longer necessary for medical research. Yet our society currently relies on medical breakthroughs to cure diseases, prevent the spread of viruses, and create technology that can change how people are able to interact with the world. However, if animals must be used in research in the meantime, their lives and experiences should be as vital and naturalistic as possible. We will always strive to surpass the industry standard and never stop asking ourselves: “Can we do better for the animals?”, and never forget it is a privilege to work with animals in research. It is our responsibility as caretakers to ensure that their experience is as peaceful and frankly, as joyful as possible.”