https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/8/22374749/elon-musk-neuralink-monkey-pong-brain-interface

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There’s probably no substitute better than just watching the 3m 27s long video as it runs through how the macaque monkey is playing Pong without a joystick.

But in case you don’t want to click or watch or engage, here’s the outline on what’s going on from The Verge: 

Pager, a 9-year-old macaque monkey, had a Neuralink implanted about six weeks before the video was shot, the video’s unnamed narrator says.

• He was first taught to play video games with a joystick for a banana smoothie reward, delivered through a metal straw. 
• While he was doing this, the Neuralink device recorded information about which neurons were firing — learning, essentially, to predict hand movements by recording which regions fired. After learning the patterns, the joystick Pager used to play was disconnected from the computer. 
• The monkey appears to go on playing the game using only his mind — playing a game of Pong with no joystick whatsoever.

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Glad I won’t be around for the mandatory chipping!

But for the souls who are “differently abled”, or whatever the politically correct term is today, this could be a Godsend.

For others, it might be a curse.

To me a beer flavored smoothie might entrap me.

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