On Friday, June 13th, Neuralink engineer Joseph O’Doherty revealed promising results from tests of the company’s latest brain implant, Blindsight. This brain-computer interface (BCI) device allowed a monkey to perceive visual cues that did not physically exist.
According to Bloomberg, a first for Neuralink and the Blindsight device was that the monkey, after being implanted with the chip, responded two-thirds of the time to visual stimuli that researchers had artificially induced the brain to perceive.
O’Doherty shared these findings at the Neural Interfaces Conference, marking what may be the first public statement offering a basic description of how Blindsight functions. For the past few years, the device has been in animal testing phases and is not yet approved by the FDA for human use. However, Elon Musk has said he hopes to begin testing on human participants by the end of this year.
At the conference, O’Doherty made several notable comments, including the idea of pairing Blindsight with a set of glasses to help the chip function more effectively. He also noted that some users spend approximately 60 hours a week using the Neuralink device.
From the first Link chip implanted in a human patient, Noland Arbaugh, to Musk’s stated goal of restoring vision by bypassing the eyes entirely, Neuralink technology has drawn significant attention since the company was founded on June 21, 2016.
In recent years, the BCI company has faced scrutiny over its treatment of animals in research. Whistleblowers, including former employees, prompted a federal investigation in June 2023, leading to an FDA inspection. Congressman Earl Blumenauer, a Democrat from Oregon and co-founder of the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus, raised public concerns about the company’s practices.
Neuralink founder Musk has responded to such criticisms by stating on his social media platform X that “no monkey has died as a result of a Neuralink implant.”
Following the FDA’s initial investigation, the agency recommended that Neuralink voluntarily address several issues but stated they did not rise to the level of formal regulatory action. However, a follow-up inspection in February 2024 uncovered additional concerns related to quality control and record-keeping. It is unclear whether these issues overlap with previous findings.
“While the company did receive citations related to documentation of its animal research, the FDA’s inspection did not find evidence of any violations that would undermine the device’s safety,” the agency said last year.
During his recent presentation, O’Doherty noted that testing in monkeys presents certain advantages. Because a monkey’s visual cortex is located closer to the brain’s surface than in humans, it is more easily accessible. For human applications, Neuralink plans to use its surgical robot to reach deeper brain regions for implant placement.
Over the years, Neuralink has conducted testing on rhesus and cynomolgus macaques, both commonly used in research due to their genetic and physiological similarities to humans. According to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, rhesus macaques were subjected to invasive and often fatal experiments at the University of California, Davis, between 2017 and 2020. The advocacy group obtained documentation of these procedures through a lawsuit filed against UC Davis.
Chrissy Newton is a PR professional and founder of VOCAB Communications. She currently appears on The Discovery Channel and Max and hosts the Rebelliously Curious podcast, which can be found on YouTube and on all audio podcast streaming platforms. Follow her on X: @ChrissyNewton, Instagram: @BeingChrissyNewton, and chrissynewton.com.