Elon Musk recently indicated on Twitter that Neuralink will allow users to stream music directly into their mind. The lacking in details confirmation came via a reply to a Tweet asking whether Neuralink will enable users to listen to music while adding, direct-to-brain tunes would be a “great feature.” The “Yes” confirmation from Musk opens the door to some interesting developments in music-streaming, and where the human brain and AI meet in general.
The means through which users might be able to access music once Neuralink is available, at least according to some of the most recent publicly announced specs, will involve signals traveling directly from a device to a chip and then via thin threads embedded within the brain to produce music sans sound waves. The integration of man and machine will, therefore, be a musical. The mission of Neuralink was recently expressed succinctly within one of Musk’s tweets in which he wrote, “if you can’t beat em, join em…” Indeed, Neuralink is developing an implant that will integrate human and artificial intelligence.
A recent article from The Verge provides a more in-depth breakdown of how Neuralink is being designed to allow humans to integrate with machines in order to receive signals, as well as to deliver them, allowing users to control electronics remotely via their Neuralink. The company is one of Mr. Musk’s multiple projects at the forefront of technological development. Other projects include Tesla and Space X, among others.
Where Musk’s Machine & The Human Mind Meet
The announcement is exciting and has generated considerable interest within the Twitterverse and beyond. Music is set to be merely one of many capabilities that Neuralink will enhance once it is fully developed and available to the public. However, focusing in on the potential new musical capabilities opens an entire world of possibilities. All that Elon has said so far is “Yes,” and the release of Neuralink is still anticipated to take place well within the future. Thus, there are still many questions regarding how the music feature will function. Neuralink is not the only player in the game, similar to space exploration and the self-driving car market, and there is a lot more beyond merely listening to music that could become possible.
Will people be able to sing to one another “psychically” via their Neuralinks? Will Neuralink enable users to connect to their guitars or other electric instruments? Will Neuralink create experiences in which the music is accompanied by visual projections that only the user can see? Will Neuralink allow users to target certain sounds, such as urban traffic, for muting while enhancing others, such as the songbirds that one so infrequently hears within the city? Will users be able to compose and perform music without ever making a sound? Are there types of music or specific sounds that could only be composed without resort to vocal chords that might emerge?
There are a lot of open questions, but one thing is certain: Musk believes that integration with AI is the future and Neuralink is the key to bringing about the linkage of human and artificial intelligence. However, it is not the end of the world as we know it. Economic research stemming out of MIT and elsewhere, including The American Economic Review actually notes how humans’ ability to cope with complexity and to engage creativity, and those skills that are non-routine, are where a human being will continue to add value within an increasingly automated economy. Complexity and creativity are fortunately natural habitats of musicians. Thus, marrying the best of both worlds, the human and the machine, offers myriad new possibilities within the economy, a solution to those suffering from neurological disorders and, now, according to Musk on Twitter, music as well.
