Founded by Elon Musk in 2016, Neuralink is a neurotechnology company that develops implantable brain–computer interfaces and
is in the process of developing a controversial brain implant.
According to the news agency Reuters, the company staff have complained that animal testing is being rushed and is causing needless suffering and deaths.
Citing sources familiar with the investigation and internal company documents, Reuters reports that the company has killed about 1,500 animals since 2018 including pigs, sheep and monkeys.
The company however states that it hopes to help paralyzed people walk again. Musk has also claimed that he is “confident” that Neuralink will cure blindness and other conditions.
On the other hand, Neuralink employees claim that they were consistently hurried and pressured to conduct animal testing that resulted in needless deaths.
In one of the examples highlighted in the report, it sates that 25 pigs die after being fitted with implants of the wrong size. Staff claimed that this would not have happened had they been given enough time to prepare properly. In an another incident, multiple monkeys were said to have been killed as a result of using a substance called BioGlue, to affix chips to their brains.
In February 2022, Neuralink acknowledged that macaque monkeys died and were euthanized after experimentation, denying that any animal abuse had occurred.
Besides, there are numerous reports, that claims that Musk is pressurizing staff to produce faster results. Earlier this year, he allegedly emailed Neuralink staff, saying: “In general, we are simply not moving fast enough. It is driving me nuts!”. This was accompanied by a news article about a Swiss tech development that helped a paralyzed man to walk.
Besides, there are numerous reports, that claims that Musk is pressurizing staff to produce faster results. Earlier this year, he allegedly emailed Neuralink staff, saying: “In general, we are simply not moving fast enough. It is driving me nuts!”. This was accompanied by a news article about a Swiss tech development that helped a paralyzed man to walk.
Following the Reuters report, the U.S. House Representatives Earl Francis Blumenauer and Adam Schiff want further U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scrutiny of Elon Musk's Neuralink.
Neuralink was founded by Elon Musk along with Max Hodak, Dongjin "DJ" Seo, Paul Merolla, Ben Rapoport, Philip Sabes, Tim Gardner, Tim Hanson and Vanessa Tolosa.
The company is headquartered in the Pioneer Building in San Francisco sharing offices with OpenAI, which is also Elon Musk backed company.
In September 2020, it was reported that only three of the eight founding scientists remained at the company due to "years of internal conflict in which rushed timelines have clashed with the slow and incremental pace of science.".
As of January 2022, of the eight cofounders, only two remain at the company
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