. 24/7 Space News .
ROCKET SCIENCE
Musk diving into minds while reaching for Mars
By Glenn CHAPMAN
San Francisco (AFP) March 28, 2017


Not content to reach for Mars and dethrone fossil fuels, tech entrepreneur Elon Musk on Tuesday is turning his focus to delving into people's minds.

In a message fired off Tuesday on Twitter, Musk appeared to confirm he is creating a startup called Neuralink devoted to enabling brains to interface directly with computers, accessing processing power and perhaps even downloading memories for storage.

"Long Neuralink piece coming out on (blog platform) @waitbutwhy in about a week. Difficult to dedicate the time, but existential risk is too high not to," Musk tweeted.

The Twitter post by the founder of electric carmaker Tesla and exploration firm SpaceX came a day after a Wall Street Journal report saying the company had been formed.

The Journal reported that the new startup will focus on "neural lace" technology which involves implanting tiny brain electrodes capable of uploading and downloading thoughts.

The report said Musk may play a "significant leadership role" even as he runs two other large companies.

Musk has previously spoken about the idea of neural lacing, claiming it can magnify people's brain power by linking them directly to computing capabilities.

- Battling evil -

The risk that he referred to in his Twitter post was likely linked to his concern that artificial intelligence could become a threat to humans.

Musk not long ago found himself in the middle of a technology world controversy by holding firm that AI could turn on humanity and be its ruin instead of a salvation.

He took part in creating a nonprofit research company devoted to developing artificial intelligence that will help people and not hurt them.

Technology giants including Google, Apple and Microsoft have been investing in making machines smarter, contending the goal is to improve lives.

"If we create some digital super-intelligence that exceeds us in every way by a lot, it is very important that it be benign," Musk said last year at a conference in California.

He reasoned that even a benign situation with ultra-intelligent AI would put people so far beneath the machine they would be "like a house cat."

"I don't love the idea of being a house cat," Musk said, envisioning the creation of neural lacing that magnifies people's brain power by linking them directly to computing capabilities.

- Tencent takes to Tesla -

Considered one of Silicon Valley's most notable visionaries, Musk is the force behind Tesla, part of an effort to move the automotive industry away from fossil fuels to electric propulsion.

In a separate announcement Tuesday, Tesla confirmed China's giant Tencent Holdings has taken a five percent stake in the electric car company as it moves to ramp up production.

Tencent paid about $1.8 billion for the small share of Musk's company, according to the document filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The Chinese technology company runs WeChat, the world's most popular messaging service, as well as many mobile game platforms.

"Tencent has smartly realized the Tesla's Industry creation potential," Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry said in a note to investors.

Tesla early in March announced plans to raise $1.15 billion in new funding to help fuel production of a mass market-targeted Model 3 electric car set for release this year.

The company forecast in February that demand for its cars would show strong growth in the first half of this year, as orders for some models hit a record high, even while posting a loss at the end of last year.

Tesla in January launched a "Gigafactory" with Panasonic to mass produce the lithium-ion battery cells used in energy storage products and the Model 3, which is priced at a moderate $35,000.

Musk also runs SpaceX, maker and launcher of rockets and spacecraft, which recently announced plans to send two private citizens around the Moon in what would mark the farthest humans have ever traveled to deep space since the 1970s.

Musk lives in Los Angeles and holds US, Canadian and South African citizenship.

gc/rl

Tencent

TESLA MOTORS

ROCKET SCIENCE
SpaceX cargo ship returns to Earth
Washington (SPX) March 20, 2017
A SpaceX reusable cargo ship splashed down in the Pacific Ocean safely on Sunday, ending a mission to supply astronauts on the International Space Station, the company said. The Dragon capsule - the only such vessel capable of returning research samples and other material to Earth - remained docked with the ISS for nearly a month after delivering more than two tonnes of food, water and sci ... read more

Related Links
Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

ROCKET SCIENCE
NASA unveils new searchable multimedia library

NASA partnerships open the path from ground to space

X-Hab working seventh season of academic-aided innovation

Deep space gateway to open opportunities for distant destinations

ROCKET SCIENCE
Musk diving into minds while reaching for Mars

SpaceX launches first recycled rocket

The "Brain" of the Space Launch System RS-25 Engine Passes Critical Test

Spaceport America sets new record for student launched sounding rocket

ROCKET SCIENCE
Final two ExoMars landing sites chosen

Mars dust storm west of Opportunity starting to abate

Breaks observed in Curiosity rover wheel treads

Mars Volcano, Earth's Dinosaurs Went Extinct About the Same Time

ROCKET SCIENCE
China Develops Spaceship Capable of Moon Landing

Long March-7 Y2 ready for launch of China's first cargo spacecraft

China Seeks Space Rockets Launched from Airplanes

Riding an asteroid: China's next space goal

ROCKET SCIENCE
Vietnam set to produce satellites by 2022

Globalsat Sky and Space Global sign MoU for testing and offering satellite service in Latin America

OneWeb Satellites breaks ground on high-volume satellite manufacturing facility

Start-Ups at the Final Frontier

ROCKET SCIENCE
Spray-on memory could enable bendable digital storage

ADATS could assist X-planes with large, super-fast data transmission

Nanomagnets for future data storage

Atomic 're-packing' behind metallic glass mystery

ROCKET SCIENCE
Astronomers identify purest, most massive brown dwarf

Fledgling stars try to prevent their neighbors from birthing planets

Fossil or inorganic structure? Scientists dig into early life forms

Gigantic Jupiter-type planet reveals insights into how planets evolve

ROCKET SCIENCE
ANU leads public search for Planet X

Juno Spacecraft Set for Fifth Jupiter Flyby

Scientists make the case to restore Pluto's planet status

ESA's Jupiter mission moves off the drawing board









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.