Elon Musk’s neurotechnology startup Neuralink released a video on Thursday that shows a monkey using the company’s tech to play Pong with his mind.
Earlier this year, Musk revealed that his team put a wireless implant in the monkey’s skull, allowing him to play video games with his mind. "You can’t see where the implant is and he’s a happy monkey," he said. "We have the nicest monkey facilities in the world. We want them to play mind-Pong with each other. That would be pretty cool.” The video shared by Neuralink appears to prove what Musk had previously said about the promising technology.
“Pager, a nine year old Macaque, plays MindPong with his Neuralink,” reads the YouTube description of the video. Neuralink tech was installed on both sides of the monkey’s skull, allowing him to play a simple game with his mind. To sweeten the deal, the monkey is able to drink a banana smoothie as he’s playing. Near the later part of the video, Pager is shown playing Pong without using any controller at all.
Commenting on the video on Twitter, Musk added, “A monkey is literally playing a video game telepathically using a brain chip!!”
"MindPong is an initial demonstration of the potential capabilities of the N1 Link," said Neuralink in a press release. "However, it's important to remember that it is a small slice of what our device is intended to achieve."
As Musk has previously mentioned, one of the main goals with the tech is to combat common brain ailments including memory loss, blindness, paralysis, depression, hearing loss, anxiety, and even brain damage.