“Elon Musk's Neuralink has achieved a notable milestone: their Blindsight implant received the FDA's "breakthrough device" designation. This chip aims to restore vision by directly stimulating the visual cortex, potentially benefiting those who have lost sight or were born blind. Elon envisions evolving capabilities, from basic visual input to enhanced perception. While ambitious, the technology faces substantial challenges, particularly for congenitally blind individuals. A planned three-patient trial will evaluate its efficacy and safety. This development could revolutionize treatment for certain types of blindness and advance our understanding of neural interfaces.”

Here are comments from Peter Diamondis on this news: “This is “biblical” in nature—curing blindness. But beyond the obvious uses, I’m excited about a MUCH more exciting future. Imagine being able to use your Blindsight implant to see through the eyes of an Optimus robot on the other side of the planet. Or being able to enhance your vision, seeing the world in infrared, ultraviolet or in zoom-mode, based on special wearables. Just as interesting will be “picture-in-picture” mode on your visual field... Reading your texts and emails, super-imposed on whatever you are watching at the moment. The future is going to be stranger than we can imagine.”

Source: Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering (2024, September 18).
Image: Neuralink's brain computer interface (BCI) that was implanted in a human.