Neurolink, AI Pin, and Humanity; Are they Civilizational Risks?

Asoke K Laha, President & MD, Interra Information Technologies
 

I get fascinated when I see something that is of interest to me, which forces me to explore further to understand the nuances and their application in the real world.  I carry those thoughts with me, may try to talk to someone, and most often debate within myself how good or bad that object, concept, or conundrum is for me or situations beyond my existence.
 

Two such things that engaged my mind were relating to technology. The first was about the Humane AI Pin, a marvellous wearable technology, nay computer, that has multiple uses, founded by Imran Choudhary and six others mostly who left Apple to stray into spaces where they can express their independent creative pursuits.  The device for some time has been the talk of technology enthusiasts, far and wide, and the number of eyeballs in social media can be a testimony to how the pocket size AI-driven technology has endeared into the minds of human beings. 
 

The AI Pin is a small device that you can clip on your clothes or accessories. It uses a combination of voice, gesture, and touch inputs to let you access various AI services, such as search, translation, navigation, food intakes and more. The device also has a projection system that can display information and interfaces on your palm, so you don’t have to look at a screen.
 

The AI Pin was first unveiled in November, in a video that showed some of its features and capabilities. However, the video also showed a glaring error in one of the AI-powered responses, which raised some questions about the device’s reliability. It seems the defect is rectified now. The AI Pin costs $699, and requires a $24 per month subscription to use cellular data and get a phone number.  For techie buffs who are keen to get this path-breaking device may have to wait only for a month long. Reports suggest that the company will start shipping it from March onwards.
 

Should this invention shake the world and herald the end of smartphones? Many including the disruptors behind the innovation think so. I simply disagree with them. While conceding that the innovation will have a distinct place among the charade of developments that are taking place, I am inclined to think that the development is only a linear extension of disruptions that are taking place in the techie world. It is at the same wavelength and latitude as that of a mobile phone and smartphone. I must say that the smartphone with this innovation has become smarter and one can see all these things as a seamless type of innovation that AI has brought about in human behavior.
 

For some time, one may see many people flashing their cheeky smartphones to let the world know about their fancy for gizmos. That instructs me to hold my breath and watch out for the next innovation in the value chain.  I am sure that will come sooner or later. What will happen to the mass-scale production carried out by Apple, Samsung etc? Will they have a new version to beat the new team that entered the space, whether they like it or not? Can they make a difference to their market share or will they buy them lock stock and barrel to internalize their technology?
 

The next tectonic and potentially dangerous development that I read recently was about the significant announcement made by Elon Mask on the invention of Neurolink; a device that can interface with the human brain. It is touted as one device for helping people with paralysis. Does it stop there? I do not know nor does Musk or his company has revealed the attributes of the device, though it has divided the scientific community on the desirability of such a device. Can it manipulate the human mind to do things and not to do? Is it a gross intrusion into privacy as the outsiders can gauge the thought process of an individual?
 

Nevertheless, Neurolink testifies to the incessant journey of mankind to apply technology everywhere possible for good or bad. According to the company which is supposed to market the device once the approvals are granted, claims that it is a flexible thread that can be implanted into a brain.   These threads will read signals from a paralyzed patient’s brain and transmit that data to an iPhone or computer, enabling the patient to control it with just their thoughts. There is  no need to tap or type or swipe. In 2023, the company announced it had won FDA approval to run its first clinical trial on humans. As latest as a few days ago, Musk revealed that the tests were successful. He did not divulge further. The scientific community is divided about the authenticity of the claim. There are ethical issues the neuro link can pose.
 

000:Now, Musk says Neurolink has implanted a device in its first human subject in the trial. He hyped the device, dubbed Tel

Former Neurolink employees as well as experts in the field have alleged that Musk pushed for an unnecessarily invasive, potentially dangerous approach to the implants that can damage the brain. 

This is a fear that’s increasingly widespread among AI leaders, that we may create machines that are smarter than humans and that can deceive human beings. I must recommend my esteemed readers to see the Tamil movie Enthiran where Rajini Kant immortalized the sidekicks of a supercomputer.

These developments are happening when there is an organized move to condition AI innovations and disruptions with ethical standards. In March 2023, many of them, including Musk, signed an open letter calling for a six-month pause on developing AI systems more powerful than OpenAI’s GPT-4. 

The jointly signed letter warned that AI systems with human-competitive intelligence can pose profound risks to society and humanity. Risks are dangerous and I feel that some ethical auditing is needed before launching a technology based on AI.