Opinion: Would You Let Elon Musk Implant a Device in Your Brain?

Elon Musk's Neuralink received approval last week from the US Food and Drug Administration to conduct human clinical trials, which one former FDA official called "really a big deal." I do not disagree, but I am skeptical that this technology will "change everything." Not every profound technological advance has broad social and economic implications.

With Neuralink's device, a robot surgically inserts a device into the brain that can then decode some brain activity and connect the brain signals to computers and other machines. A person paralyzed from the neck down, for example, could use the interface to manipulate her physical environment, as well as to write and communicate.

This would indeed be a breakthrough - for people with paralysis or traumatic brain injuries. For others, I am not so sure. For purposes of argument, as there are many companies working in this space, assume this technology works as advertised. Who exactly will want to use it?

One fear is that the brain-machine connections will be expensive, and that only the wealthy will be able to afford them. These people will become a new class of "super-thinkers," lording over us with their superior intellects.