China reveals plans to compete with Elon Musk's Neuralink project
(Baonghean.vn) - The race to implant chips into human brains is getting more intense as the Chinese government announced a roadmap to develop their own "brain-computer interface", a product that could appear as early as 2025.
Accordingly, this plan was announced by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) on January 29, revealing their great ambition in strongly promoting "advanced technologies".
MIIT said its goal is to achieve breakthroughs in hundreds of technological fields, creating “iconic products” by 2025. Among them, the development of brain-computer interfaces, similar to billionaire Elon Musk’s Neuralink brain chip technology, stands out.
China’s goal of developing brain-computer interface technology within just three years shows its remarkable ambition in this field. This promises to be a major step forward, not only promoting medical and entertainment development but also opening up many other potential applications.
China’s ambitions in brain-computer interface technology are clear, with the goal of developing products similar to Elon Musk’s Neuralink, but in a shorter timeframe – by 2025. This promises to bring benefits such as improving medical treatments, enabling immersive virtual reality experiences, and even accelerating the development of self-driving cars.
In its aggressive push into the tech sector, China is not only targeting brain-computer interfaces but also accelerating breakthroughs in technologies such as graphics processing units (GPUs). GPUs play a key role in image and video processing and other heavy graphics tasks. China’s focus on this area shows its ambition to compete with big names like Nvidia and AMD of the US.
In addition, they are also stepping up research and development of quantum computers to open up many new applications in the fields of medicine, materials, finance and cybersecurity. China's participation in the race to develop this technology shows its intention to become a formidable competitor on the international playing field.
China's goal is to become a "global leader" in these fields by 2027. This is a big and challenging ambition, but with abundant resources and strong determination, China is fully capable of achieving significant results.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk's Neuralink is also making notable progress. In a post on X (Twitter) on January 29, Elon Musk said that Neuralink's first patient had successfully received a brain chip implant and was recovering well after the company received FDA approval to conduct human trials in May 2023.
China, on the other hand, has also been actively developing brain-computer interface devices in recent years, including products that could rival Neuralink.
Accordingly, in 2019, Tianjin University cooperated with China Electronics Corporation to develop and announce the "Brain Talker" chip for brain-computer interface.
Last year, the Chinese government funded the construction of a brain-computer interface research lab in Tianjin, where more than 60 scientists are working. Also last year, Tsinghua University in Beijing unveiled a device that connects the brain to a computer by implanting it in the human inner ear.
These activities show that China is actively pursuing Elon Musk and Neuralink in the field of brain-computer interface technology. Their goal is to develop products similar to, or even superior to, Neuralink in a short time.
The SpiralE brain-computer interface reportedly has a unique spiral design that allows it to be inserted into the brain without surgery, opening up a less invasive approach than traditional technologies. This is a remarkable step forward in the field of brain-computer interfaces.
The publication of a policy document on ambitions to develop brain-computer interfaces comes after China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced a roadmap for mass production of humanoid robots by 2025, signaling China's strong determination to lead in advanced technology fields.
Brain-computer interfaces promise wide-ranging applications in medicine, entertainment, education and many other fields.
However, alongside the promise, there are also concerns about ethical and safety issues. Implanting chips into human brains could impact people’s privacy and autonomy. It is important that China has strong and transparent regulations to ensure that this technology is developed and used safely and responsibly.
In short, China’s entry into the race to develop brain-computer interfaces is a notable development in the technology world. While the potential is there, we should also consider the issues involved and hope that the Chinese government will take careful steps to develop this technology in a sustainable and ethical manner.
