First-person shooter fans beware; Elon Musk’s cyborg monkey has learned to play Pong using just its mind, so it’ll be 360 no-scoping you with its Call of Duty sniper build before you know it…
Elon Musk’s Monkey Can Play Video Games With Its Brain
Just as you thought 2021 couldn’t get any stranger, Elon Musk (AKA the technoking) has revealed that his Neuralink-implanted monkey (which has been living happily since February’s surgery, according to Musk) can now play video games.
The primate, which isn’t named Pogo and cannot talk (yet), can control Atari’s classic TV game, Pong. It (which is actually named Pager) doesn’t use a joystick or a gamepad, though. Instead, it uses its brain. Humans may not have long left as the dominant species…
Does this mean Atari will open virtual Orangutan arcades as part of its new gaming division? Probably not, but it means that Musk’s Neuralink is advancing rapidly.
How Can a Monkey Play Pong With Its Brain?
As the video above explains, Neuralink has implanted Pager’s brain with thousands of electronic nodes. These monitor brain activity. Scientists have trained Pager to control the game on the screen simply by thinking about it (initially with rewards of banana milkshake to sweeten the deal).
As the video progresses, we can see the monkey is using a joystick to control a cursor, which Pager uses to follow an orange block around the screen. When the cursor lands on the orange block, Pager gets some milkshake. All fairly typical so far.
While this is taking place, the Neuralink is monitoring the electronic signals created by Pager’s brain as he thinks about moving the cursor to the orange square on the screen.
However, the video then shows Pager playing Pong, and doing so pretty well, it has to be said. This time, though, the joystick isn’t there anymore. Instead, the computer has learned what signals come from Pager’s brain relating to how, where, and when to move the cursor and has applied these same rules for when Pager plays Pong.
It is absolutely fascinating.
What Does a Monkey Playing Pong Mean for Neuralink?
Achieving Pong-playing primates may not seem all that impressive (and some people have called into question the wellbeing of Pager) but the fact that a monkey can control something far more complex than it is used to, just using its brain, spells out much wider and more important uses for Musk’s Neuralink.
Imagine how this might work for people with reduced or no mobility. They will enjoy a better quality of life, and we’re not talking about playing video games. Neuralink may mean they can perform countless tasks never normally possible for them, which is an incredibly exciting prospect.
Given that it essentially can alter your brain activity, the Neuralink could be used in future neurological therapies. It may well be that it can slow the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, or reduce or even eradicate the effects of epilepsy.
Would You Have a Neuralink Transplant?
While it does seem like an excellent idea, having a massive tech company implant a chip in your brain might ring alarm bells, especially for the more conspiratorial among us.
However, these advances in technology could one day help millions of people, and that certainly isn’t a bad thing at all.