How Elon Musk’s Neuralink Could Disrupt the Smartphone Industry

Derick DavidFollowMar 27 · 4 min read

Neuralink, a neurotechnological company based out of San Francisco founded by Elon Musk is developing technology whose ultimate goal is to help cure neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s, dementia, and spinal cord injuries.

The company develops ultra-high bandwidth brain-machine interfaces that connect the human brain to computers. Essentially, it’s a network of tiny electrodes linked to your brain that Neuralink envisions, which will allow us to communicate wirelessly with everything and everyone.

Our thoughts, feelings, hopes, and even behaviors can be expressed without saying a word. In addition, it can allow us to communicate with animals.

As a matter of fact, Neuralink has started testing their brain-machine device with pigs.

Yes, you read that right. Pigs.

They tested it with pigs by putting a computer chip inside their brains.

Again, yes you read that right. Inside their brains.

Neuralink does something that can be considered morally unethical, but when understood the science behind it, it will start to make sense and it will just be like any other scientific innovations we’ve had in our lifetime.

Of course, that doesn’t negate the fact that putting a chip into animals’ brains and in the future, human brains, is incredibly risky, which is why the company takes careful decisions for every step they make.

Dangerous and risky, but innovative and rewarding, when it works.

What can you do with it?

A whole-brain interface would give your brain the ability to communicate wirelessly with the cloud, with computers, and with the brains of anyone who has a similar interface in their head.

That means that anything you type with your hands on your iPhone right now can be entirely done just by thinking about it.

This flow of information between your brain and the outside world would be so easy it would feel the same as your thoughts do right now. It would be second nature to you, if not first.

Basically, a Neuralink brain chip interface is a communication system. It’s like having earpieces, but you don’t respond to the other line by speaking, but by thinking. The signals that go off your neurons are read by an interface that translates into data.

As you can see by now, there are limitless applications for such technology and one could only imagine what it cannot do.

Where Is Neuralink In The Process?

Neuralink has started testing its technology on pigs mid 2020, which resulted in success. Early 2021, the company also tested on monkeys, by having the monkey itself play videogames.

And more recent development, it has been discussed that a possible test on humans could be conducted in mid to late 2021.

Neuralink may fundamentally alter how we conceive of what it means to be human.

Why?

Because of how we communicate and interact with our fellow humans and animals. Neuralink could be the next technological revolution that could disrupt some industries, if not all.

Smartphone and computer for starters.

How could it disrupt the smartphone industry?

Depending on who you ask, the human story generally goes like this. First, we discovered fire, then we developed oral language. We then turned oral language into writing language, and eventually, found a way to turn it into mechanized printing.

A few centuries later, electricity happened, which gave rise to telephones, radios, TVs, and eventually personal computers, and our beloved handheld smartphones.

Then, phones started losing their cords, computers became mini and we figured out ways to make them exponentially more powerful and portable enough to fit in pockets.

Eventually, we created virtual realities and melded our sensate reality with an augmented one. We made everything smaller, portable, and cordless.

Neuralink’s technology is the next wave of disruption much like what personal computers and smartphones did. This time, it will be a massive disruption.

People use their smartphones primarily to communicate and if the people of the future will be presented with a better way to communicate, they will change their minds. Yes, there will be resistance at first, but as how every technological disruption progressed, you cannot stop innovation.

And as the old saying goes, “Resistance is futile.”

Apple Watch or AirPods, devices primarily made for communications, but both of these facilitate how we communicate with one another.

They’re wireless, portable, lightweight, and handy. Everything seems so seamless with them.

Now, only God can put a description on that brain chip.

A disruption always takeover an existing industry by scale so when this happens, brain-machine interfaces could not only change the way we communicate but also how we think.

Smartphones and computers will be the new Television.
Neuralink’s technology will be the new iPhones.

With great power comes great responsibility

Because Neuralink is essentially a communications system there will be a big matter of regulation and control. And because it can also take over industries like smartphones and computers, policies will be created, deals will be made.

There’s also the issue of security, exploits, and hacks. Just like how our smart ecosystem of smart devices is exploitable and hackable, a brain chip interface device will be as well.

Well, it is Silicon Valley after all.
If you’re not creating problems, you’re not innovating enough.