Elon Musks Neuralink Staff Claim His Demands To Rush Brain Implant Trials Led To The Needless Deaths Of 1,500 Animals

Neuralink, one of Elon Musk's lesser-known businesses, is under federal investigation after allegedly killing 1,500 animals while testing the company's brain implants.

Founded by Musk in 2016, the startup builds coin-sized computer chips to implant in human brains to help people with conditions such as strokes or neurological disorders.

Reuters reported Monday that Neuralink was under investigation, citing official documents and sources familiar with the investigation and the company's operations.

The USDA Inspector General reportedly opened an investigation in recent months at the request of federal prosecutors, and sources say Reuters officials are investigating possible violations of the Animal Welfare Act.

The Animal Welfare Act regulates the handling of animals in research and experiments.

Neuralink and Department of Agriculture officials did not respond to requests for comment.

Operational intelligence officer

Neuralink's investigation came amid a spate of internal employee complaints, according to Reuters, in which employees claimed the company's hasty testing caused unnecessary suffering and death of animals.

These complaints included claims that pressure from Musk, the company's CEO, to speed up development of the Neuralink technology caused the experiment to fail. Reuters reported that this failed experiment had to be repeated, resulting in more and more experimental animal deaths.

Current and former employees told the news outlet that Musk had been working hard to move Neuralink faster, telling employees in a February email, "Overall, we're not moving forward, not fast enough. He's driving me crazy."

The internal memo reportedly comes 10 minutes after another tweet from Musk broke the news about a Swiss scientist whose electrical implants helped a paralyzed man walk.

The Reuters report is based on a January interview with a former Neuralink employee, who described the "company beset by internal tensions and unpredictable management" and allegations of animal rights violations by interest groups, including "invasive and lethal brain testing." on monkeys. . The company later admitted to killing eight monkeys in a research experiment.

Last year, Neuralink released footage showing how a monkey's hand movements are translated to play a computer game, and in 2020 it is said to have successfully implanted a chip in the brain of a pig named Gertrude.

What does Neuralink do?

Neuralink describes itself as a "team of incredibly talented people" who are "inventing the future of brain-computer interfaces".

In addition to developing brain implants that can help SCI patients communicate their thoughts and perhaps even restore motor, sensory, or visual function, the company is "inventing new technologies that can expand our capabilities, our communities, and our world."

However, some scientists argue that Musk overestimated the potential of Neuralink.

His brain implant is said to work by connecting thousands of neurons in the brain, recording their activity, and sending signals directly to external devices. This theoretically allows tetraplegics to control computers and mobile devices with their minds.

Musk previously referred to the technology as "a Fitbit in your skull."

Musk said last week that he would sign up as a test subject once the human trials received regulatory approval.

However, the company's human trials have been postponed several times, and Musk initially hoped to start them in 2020.

This story originally appeared on Fortune.com

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