Unfortunately I have been living under a rock recently.

Can someone please ELI5 it for me ?

  • Otter@lemmy.ca
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    9
    ·
    edit-2
    9 months ago

    I think that’s an important point here: there are legitimate medical uses and this technology can really help people with paralysis and other neurological issues.

    The problem comes down to the company. Neuralink isn’t doing something super groundbreaking, and there are many other companies working on this. Companies with different methodology, ethical standards and practices.

    Unlike some other tech, medical research isn’t something you rush through to get the results you want. It can be a really cool science, but going for the ‘cool’ delivery mechanism or procedure isn’t helpful.

    If they can’t handle doing it correctly, they won’t get it done. Someone else will

    • PetDinosaurs@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      edit-2
      9 months ago

      The important thing to remember here is that there is always a risk-reward trade-off. No matter what you do, you’re always making a choice, and doing nothing is also bad for you.

      It’s one thing to open up the skull to give a locked in individual a much greater quality of life.

      It’s a completely different thing to treat toenail fungus with a drug that has a sufficiently high probability of killing your liver (and killing you or requiring a transplant).