|
Neuralink-style technology, while useful, strikes me as not the most interesting approach. Ever since I saw an article from 2019 about a pig brain kept alive for 10h after death, I became obsessed with the idea of "brain externalization". In one sentence: why not dumping the body and connecting the brain to a computer directly through the nerves while on artificial support, instead of going through the hassle of invasively implanting wires on an embodied brain? Compared to the gigantic complexity and chaos that a human brain is, nerves are not only simpler, but they are the route to everything going in and out of our perceptions of reality. This technology would be maximally invasive from the perspective of the body as a whole, but actually less invasive than Neuralink from the perspective of the brain itself, which is what matters - not only that, but think about it: what's easier to keep alive, a whole body, or just one organ? If a user of Neuralink has a kidney failure, he would be as good as gone, whereas an externalized brain would have a machine pumping artificial blood into it at forever optimal flow and composition. That brain might even live to 150 years, given that it would constantly exist in a perfect environment free of bad life habits, failing and aging organs, accidents, alcohol, pollutants, pathogens, and so on. Mega bonus: it would experience fully immersive, five senses virtual reality. Theses externalized brains could create a paradise world to live in and be whoever or whatever they wanted, so long as that creature's nerves mapped to some real existing nerve. We need to develop only 2 key technologies to make this happen: nerve interfaces and artificial blood. The most that has been invested in nerve interfaces by any single institution, to my knowledge, is around 80 million USD, and 40 million for artificial blood. In 2022 alone, nearly $5.2 billion was invested in businesses centered around longevity, and brain externalization might just be the most overlooked longevity treatment. What could a cool 5 billion achieve in nerve interception and artificial blood research? |