The Blindsight chip from Elon Musk’s company Neuralink was used in an experiment on monkeys: the brain implant helped the monkey see something that was not physically nearby. In the future, this should help blind people see.
According to Neuralink engineer Joseph O’Doherty, quoted by Bloomberg, the device stimulated the areas of the monkey’s brain associated with vision, and at least two-thirds of the time the monkey directed its gaze towards something that the researchers were trying to trick the brain into visualizing.
O’Doherty added that testing on monkeys has advantages because the visual cortex in this animal is located closer to the surface of the brain than in humans, making it easier to access.
Eventually, Neuralink will bend over backwards to have the Blindsight system include a pair of glasses that will help the chip work.
According to the publication, these test results were the first that Neuralink has made public.
However, as with all animal studies, it’s still an open question how these results will translate to humans, as the device has not yet been approved for human use in the U.S. The tech billionaire said in March that Blindsight could be tested on humans as early as this year.
Recall that five people have already received Neuralink implants: three in 2024 and two in 2025. In some cases, patients use their Neuralink device for about 60 hours a week.
As dev.ua wrote, in March 2024, Elon Musk announced another Neuralink product — the Blindsight chip «with graphics like Nintendo’s,» which will restore people’s lost vision.
We also wrote about how the Neuralink brain chip helped a paralyzed man create a video for YouTube.