Recently, Elon Musk’s brain implant company Neuralink posted a video, where a monkey, who’d been implanted, can be seen playing ping pong with its thoughts. “A monkey is literally playing a video game telepathically using a brain chip!” Musk tweeted.

While the Neuralink demonstration excited Musk’s fans, it received criticism from scientists and tech enthusiasts concerning privacy, data ownership, and biomedical ethics.

“While I’m excited about the therapeutic applications of brain chips for those with movement and memory problems, I worry about the widespread use of brain chips in the future,” cognitive psychologist Susan Schneider told Observer.

The psychologist has been a critic of Elon Musk’s brain-reading tech for years. Back in 2019, she said that implanting an AI in a human brain is similar to suicide. Moreover, she believes that a person’s private thoughts and biometric data can be sold to Big Tech. “Without proper regulations, your innermost thoughts and biometric data could be sold to the highest bidder,” Schneider added.

Neurological data extracted for a medical experiment is protected by HIPAA; however, there are no regulations to prevent the harvesting of data using a consumer brain implant. It can be more invasive than Facebook’s way of monetizing user data.

Although the idea of extracting neural data and monetizing it is still years away, the fact that technology could bypass the regulations meant for public safety is concerning.

Apart from privacy, several medical concerns are yet to be clarified. Firstly, the longevity of the brain-computer interface, which tends to degrade over time due to the use of electrodes. Neuralink needs to ensure the use of long-lasting electrodes that keeps the chip functional for a good number of years.

Also, the BCI implants can damage nerve tissue and cause an infection inside the brain. These infections might not be very serious but will only be cured after the removal of the brain implant.