Elon Musk is planting computer chips in brains – where do I sign up?

I have an electrode in my arm that feeds my blood sugar levels to my phone and I’m contemplating another in my spine, writes James Moore. It may seem ‘cyberpunk’ – but if it works (and stops my pain), I’m all for it...

Elon Musk says his Neuralink has successfully implanted a chip in a human brain – an example of how medical tech has the potential to transform lives. I should know... (AFP/Getty)

Would you trust Elon Musk to put a chip in your brain?

It might be something to consider, given that one of his startups – Neuralink – has reportedly done exactly that.

If you think it sounds like the plot for a cyberpunk novel – something William Gibson would dream up for Hollywood, say, with Keanu Reeves in the starring role – you’re not alone. The real chip’s purpose, however (unlike Johnny Mnemonic, the 1995 movie about a data courier with an overloading brain implant) is medical. Musk took to his platform X, formerly Twitter, to report that the first person to take part in the study was “recovering well” and that “initial results show promising neuron spike detection”.