Neuralink, a company founded by Elon Musk and Max Hodak, has been working on an implantable brain-computer interface (BCI) that has the potential to cure various brain diseases. After six years, it plans to begin human testing in late 2022.

The implant, called the “Link,” will connect the human brain to an app bearing the same name as the company. When the procedure is done, thin neural threads will be used to connect the Link to areas of the brain controlling movement. As a result, brain activity can control the keyboard and mouse of technology via the app. This would be incredibly valuable to people who cannot communicate using traditional methods, either via speaking or manual typing.

The initial application is to help people with paralysis regain independence and improve overall quality of life. The long-term goal is to further research in the field of neurotechnology, as well as expand the communicative capabilities of the human brain. The company believes this research will eventually help find treatments for other neurological disorders.

Many people are hesitant about the company, however, due to Musk’s lack of expertise on neuroscience, especially after Hodak (the more experienced of the two) announced he was leaving Neuralink. Those with neurodevelopmental disorders have had particularly strong reactions to Musk’s ideas of providing a cure.

The problem started when Musk spoke on the podcast “Artificial Intelligence” back in 2019. When asked about the potential impact of the implant, he states: “(Neuralink) at first will solve a lot of brain-related diseases. So that could be anything from autism, schizophrenia, memory loss…” 

Musk clumps autism and schizophrenia into the category of brain diseases, both of which are known to be neurodevelopmental disorders. Diseases are inherently harmful to the body, while neurodevelopmental disorders refer to a difference in the development of the brain. “Autism is a huge part of who I am. It pervades every aspect of my life…I wouldn’t trade my autism for the world,” Nera Birch writes in response to Musk’s statements.

Neuralink raises concerns for its connection to eugenics, which is the extermination of a specific group of people that is often justified as societally beneficial.

Perhaps the most famous example of eugenics is the Holocaust, in which Jewish, disabled, and other people judged unfit were tortured or killed. Coincidentally enough, Musk has revealed a diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome, coined by the Nazi scientist Hans Asperger in an attempt to separate autistic children he believed could be weaponized from those who should be killed. Today the diagnosis is widely considered to be offensive, with autism instead being used as a spectrum term.

An example of modern eugenics is the abortion of children with Down syndrome simply for having an extra chromosome. In conversation, eugenics comes up when people suggest that people with autism or schizophrenia shouldn’t have children, or that their diagnosis shouldn’t be discussed.

With the invention of new technology, such as Neuralink, eugenics becomes easier to achieve. On the invention of prenatal screenings for Down syndrome, Sarah Zhang said: “Suddenly, a new power was thrust into the hands of ordinary people—the power to decide what kind of life is worth bringing into the world.” In the case of Neuralink, it becomes what kind of life is worth maintaining.

As someone with several neurodevelopmental disorders who is interested in neuroscience, it is one of my biggest concerns that research be weaponized to support a violent agenda. Also on the podcast, Musk suggests the need for government regulation of technology as it advances. Government corruption, however, could compromise the prevention of eugenics.

Neuralink remains a project in progress—the lasting effects of such technology are unknown. But one thing is certain: this research isn’t stopping anytime soon. Education and advocacy are essential to protect the rights of those with disabilities.