Elon Musk expects human trials for Neuralink brain implant will start in six months

Elon Musk has revealed his Neuralink brain implant device is set to undergo human trials in six months.

The tech billionaire has given a Show and Tell presentation about the technology and it's shaping up to be fairly incredible (if everything goes according to plan).

He showed how one of their test monkeys has managed to learn how to move the cursor on a computer using just their brain.

The implant was so small that it was difficult to see on the livestream and it allowed the animal to spell out words and say something.

While the monkey wasn't actively spelling out words, because it doesn't understand human language, it was still able to operate the computer simply by its thoughts.

Musk said this type of technology would be brilliant for those who might be quadriplegic and cannot move a computer mouse.

The tech genius said they have been working hard to ensure the Nerualink implant can be upgradable, is affordable and is safe.

Obviously that final part is the most important.

This isn't the first time Musk has teased potential human trials for the brain device.

In February last year, he suggested Neuralink could start testing the technology on humans at some point in 2021.

"Neuralink is working super hard to ensure implant safety & is in close communication with the FDA. If things go well, we might be able to do initial human trials later this year," Musk said to a person on Twitter.

Clearly, things didn't go his way in 2021.

But, 2023 could be his time to shine.

During his Show and Tell, Musk revealed actual human trials will 'probably [be] in about six months'.

Musk has previously explained how the brain implant could help people with various illnesses or disabilities.

During an interview with TED's Chris Anderson, he said Neuralink would be helping to treat brain and spinal injuries 'for nearly a decade', as well as addressing morbid obesity and other health conditions.

In response to this, a Twitter user asked Musk if there was any hope of curing tinnitus, a condition that affects around 15 to 20 percent of people, with experts believing it'll affect in one in three people in years to come.

Musk replied: "Definitely. Might be less than 5 years away, as current version Neuralinks are semi-generalised neural read/write devices with ~1000 electrodes and tinnitus probably needs <<1000.

"Future gen Neuralinks will increase electrode count by many orders of magnitude."

But, we'll have to get through human trials first before we can start talking about who might be able to use it en masse.