“Neuralink” is a start-up created by Elon Musk in 2016. The company’s main aim is brain implants development by means of electronic chips that are inserted into the brain and equipped with a form of artificial intelligence.
This kind of technology focuses on helping persons with disabilities, for example, to communicate or to move. At first glance, “Neuralink” does not seem to present any particular ethical difficulties.
But Elon Musk clarified his goal: “Over time I think we will probably see a closer merger of biological intelligence and digital intelligence” (World Government Summit in Dubai).
And he continued: “Some high bandwidth interface to the brain will be something that helps achieve a symbiosis between human and machine intelligence.
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With the high cost of these neurotechnologies, one can fear that only a small part of the richest population will have access to them. There would be an even bigger physical and social disparity than the one we know currently, and potentially, a hierarchy of value attributed to individuals.
In this case, it is not clear that we would look positively upon the Neuralink project, and it is not only a question of its purpose since it would probably not result in a co-evolution between human biology and technology, but in a domination of the latter over the former.
