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Company owned by Elon Musk sued for the death of 16 monkeys during his experiments
Neuralink would have implanted electrodes with an experimental robot which they attached to the monkeys' brains with titanium screws
The Neuralink company, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, was sued for causing the deaths of 16 monkeys during shoddy experiments.
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM, for its acronym in English), was the one who made the complaint based on documents of around 600 pages of investigation.
In them, they detail that the brain tests carried out by Neuralink and the University of California (UC) at Davis in mammals violate the Federal Animal Welfare Act.
Results of the investigations
The PCRM has reported that during the experiments carried out with the animals, they did not receive adequate veterinary care, including the use of a substance known as “Bioglue”, which destroyed part of the monkeys' brains, causing their death.
In addition, they assure that the primates mutilated their brains and left them to suffer, for which 16 of the 23 animals used died or were sacrificed, according to the records.
Jeremy Beckham, a spokesman for the PCRM, explained that Neuralink implanted electrodes with an experimental robot which they attached to the monkeys' brains with titanium screws.
Likewise, he added that among the adverse reactions presented by the animals are diarrhea, lack of appetite, depression and eye infections.
Hidden evidence by Neuralink and UC Davis
Although the billionaire's company has admitted to having sacrificed eight primates during the studies carried out, it also denies that they have suffered in the process.
For its part, UC Davis alleges that the images of the developed experiments belong to Neuralink, a private company which is not governed by United States legislation and from whom they received a contribution of 1.4 million dollars for the investigations.
According to information related to the lawsuit, as of November 2020 Neuralink severed ties with UC Davis, moving the remaining monkeys to its headquarters in Fremont, California.
What is the objective of Neuralink?
Elon Musk announced that with this project they are developing a small chip capable of transmitting brain functions (brain-computer), and thus correct neuronal diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, dementia, spinal injuries, among others.
It would also have positive effects on pathologies related to hearing loss, memory loss, depression and addictions.
The billionaire pointed out that the chip measures 23 millimeters and would be implanted under the ear, connected to threads thinner than the thickness of a hair, which will be "sewn" to the superficial part of the brain.
In the past, the company itself published a video of a monkey "controlling" a Pong video game only with "the power of his mind."
