Elon Musk’s quest to wirelessly connect human brains with machines has run into a seemingly impossible obstacle, experts say. The company is now asking the public for help finding a solution.

Musk’s startup Neuralink, which is in the early stages of testing in human subjects, is pitched as a brain implant that will let people control computers and other devices using their thoughts. Some of Musk’s predictions for the technology include letting paralyzed people “walk again and use their arms normally.”

Turning brain signals into computer inputs means transmitting a lot of data very quickly. A problem for Neuralink is that the implant generates about 200 times more brain data per second than it can currently wirelessly transmit. Now, the company is seeking a new algorithm that can transmit this data in a smaller package — a process called compression — through a public challenge.

As a barebones web page announcing the Neuralink Compression Challenge posted on Thursday explains, “[greater than] 200x compression is needed.” The winning solution must also run in real time, and at low power.

  • @dariusj18
    link
    English
    554 months ago

    Did they try Stack overflow?

    • @bus_factor
      link
      English
      354 months ago

      Why not skip the middle man and ask ChatGPT directly?

      • Billiam
        link
        English
        134 months ago

        *GrokAI

        You know, Xitter’s shittier AI.

        • @bus_factor
          link
          English
          44 months ago

          Fair, I was thinking in the context of Stack Overflow.