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Neuralink 'Participant 1' says his life has changed

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Re: Neuralink 'Participant 1' says his life has changed

#111
post #99

There is a great podcast with the entire team + Noland on yt. It is ~ 8h long, but IMO it's worth the time. You get to hear things from the perspective of the chief brain surgeon, hardware team, software team, and of course Noland himself. I really recommend it, to get a better understanding of what's possible, what they had to do to get there, and how impactful this kind of research is for people with terrible condi…

Still the same depraved head of neurosurgery, Dr. Matthew MacDougall, who said: "If tomorrow laws were changed and the FDA said okay you can do some of this early experimentation in willing human participants that would be a very interesting option I think there would be a lot of people that would step up." [1] That is basically the textbook definition of unethical medical practice, so unquestionably far over the lin…

> That is basically the textbook definition of unethical medical practice

This is an extremely uncharitable interpretation of what was said. First of all, it's really hard to get malpractice here, as consent is implied (unless you'd think he'd purposefully do a bad or sloppy job). You could say it's irresponsible, and that argument holds more water, but when folks are in these terrible situations (i.e. terminally ill, etc.), a strong argument could also be that it's morally impermissible to disallow them to partake in such experimental treatments.

In any case, it's an interesting moral conundrum, akin to abortion or euthanasia.

Re: Neuralink 'Participant 1' says his life has changed

#112
post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Still the same depraved head of neurosurgery, Dr. Matthew MacDougall, who said: "If tomorrow laws were changed and the FDA said okay you can do some of this early experimentation in willing human participants that would be a very interesting option I think there would be a lot of people that would step up." [1] That is basically the textbook definition of unethical medical practice, so unquestionably far over the lin…

These kind of takes often place a higher value on people's life than they would place on their own. We should let people choose MAID if that's the best outcome for their lives, and we should let them risk their health for science. It's up to them whether they feel they have anything left to lose. This is aside from the harm it does to the rest of us to prevent experimentation by willing participants, such as barring…

well, it may be one thing when we're talking about functional adults deciding for themselves to opt-in to experimental treatment.

i would guess that these protections exist to cover a broader group including children or those who are in the care of others and aren't necessarily capable of making their own decisions about experimental treatment... to say nothing of other forms of coercion otherwise-capable adults may face when it comes to stuff like this.

it's tricky! and it doesn't seem like there's a one-size-fits-all approach that offers protection for those who need it.

Re: Neuralink 'Participant 1' says his life has changed

#113
post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would you not go first? If you are blind it cannot be worse (well it can, but there are always risks). My wife went through semi-expetimental therapy (at that time) for her MS. It was tough but ultimately a net benefit. It all depends on what is at stake - I would consider Ozempic for some weight loss but prefer, for now , go for no sugar and moderate portions. This is not life changing for me so I indeed prefer…

It's a brain chip. How do you feel about being blind and paralyzed? Or comatose? Or dead? How about never-ending pain or constant bright flashes? What if they go bankrupt, and something happens to the implant? Brain surgery isn't exactly an industry where "move fast and break things" is an acceptable approach - especially when you are the patient. Considering Neuralink's historical record, going first sounds like a h…

Counterpoint: the main motivation for installing brain chips is to be able to do those things to subordinates.

Re: Neuralink 'Participant 1' says his life has changed

#114

Neuralink is amazing technology and watching videos of participants who have completely different abilities and freedom with Neuralink implants is mind blowing. It’s sad that many want to dismiss these amazing achievements just because it’s an Elon Musk founded company. At some point you simply have to acknowledge his success (and his team’s), and hope they get further with all of this. For those interested in their…

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Re: Neuralink 'Participant 1' says his life has changed

#115
post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would you not go first? If you are blind it cannot be worse (well it can, but there are always risks). My wife went through semi-expetimental therapy (at that time) for her MS. It was tough but ultimately a net benefit. It all depends on what is at stake - I would consider Ozempic for some weight loss but prefer, for now , go for no sugar and moderate portions. This is not life changing for me so I indeed prefer…

It's a brain chip. How do you feel about being blind and paralyzed? Or comatose? Or dead? How about never-ending pain or constant bright flashes? What if they go bankrupt, and something happens to the implant? Brain surgery isn't exactly an industry where "move fast and break things" is an acceptable approach - especially when you are the patient. Considering Neuralink's historical record, going first sounds like a h…

Also seizures, personality changes and myriad forms of cognitive impairment.

The 20 years of US adventures in Iraq & Afghanistan led to many traumatic brain injury cases analyzed by modern medicine, and the chronic symptoms are worse than one might think.

Re: Neuralink 'Participant 1' says his life has changed

#117
post #113
post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a brain chip. How do you feel about being blind and paralyzed? Or comatose? Or dead? How about never-ending pain or constant bright flashes? What if they go bankrupt, and something happens to the implant? Brain surgery isn't exactly an industry where "move fast and break things" is an acceptable approach - especially when you are the patient. Considering Neuralink's historical record, going first sounds like a h…

Counterpoint: the main motivation for installing brain chips is to be able to do those things to subordinates.

It's important that no one can accidentally sideload misinformation.

No different than checking an ID at the airport, really.

Re: Neuralink 'Participant 1' says his life has changed

#118

I think anyone who chooses to undergo the first few trials of a new operation like this, and is informed about the risks, is very brave. I do not know much of anything about medical science, but my impression is that we are still very, very far from having a deep grasp of how both the brain and the immune system work. Ultimately, to the body an implant is simply a foreign object. Many tech professionals work on proje…

> Ultimately, to the body an implant is simply a foreign object.

I get your point but, there's a lot of foreign objects going in by the way of various pores and openings. Biological beings are surprisingly resilient & fragile at the same time.

Re: Neuralink 'Participant 1' says his life has changed

#119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"anyone who can think critically leans towards the Democratic party" isn't something anyone who's actually intelligent would ever say.

It's exactly what a partisan reddit midwit would say and they're overrepresented when it comes to Elon Musk hatred. There used to be less of that on HN, my theory is younger accounts that are more politically extreme/lefty are now here as the younger generation graduates school and posts more on HN. There's some historical irony too since communism came out of highly educated academic elites and is responsible for an…

Do you think Pew research is a democrat shill body?

https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2016/04/26/a-wider-ideo...

I'm very midwitted. 50% of the planet is below the mean after all..

Re: Neuralink 'Participant 1' says his life has changed

#120
post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unskippable preroll ads in your dreams. A whole new meaning to "sentiment analysis".

Futurama! Just watched that episode today.

Funny part being how we have ads everywhere else today.
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