Elon Musk’s neurotechnology company, Neuralink, the one building a brain implant, is under US government (FDA) investigation over the trial of its ‘brain implant’ on animals. It has reportedly led to the death of over 1500 subjects.
Not just the government but the company is also facing backlash from staff for animal welfare violations. The employees complain of the animal testing being rushed, causing unnecessary suffering and deaths.
Neuralink said to have violated Animal Welfare Act
The federal probe began in recent months by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as per the sources with knowledge of the investigation. The investigation focuses on transgressions of the Animal Welfare Act, which oversees how researchers treat and test some animals during an experiment.
Reuters went through company documents, including unreported messages, emails, and reports, and also interviewed more than 20 current and former employees at Neuralink to find a huge dissent on how Musk’s pressure to accelerate development is forcing the company to repeat tests that have failed before, thus increasing the number of deaths.
‘More than 1,500 animals were killed in Musk’s race to achieve results’
So far, Neuralink has reportedly killed about 1,500 animals, including sheep, pigs, and monkeys, since 2018, as per the records reviewed by Reuters. Though, sources familiar with the experiments say that the figure is a rough estimate as the company does not keep a precise record of the animal trials.
Though, the number of animal deaths does not mean that the company has been violating regulations since many other companies also use animals for research purposes and kill them afterward to examine them further. It is the number of animals being killed for Musk’s speed research that is higher than it needs to be.
What may happen to Musk’s plan of uploading Neuralink to humans
It is yet to see if this investigation could hamper Nueralink’s plan to begin trials on humans, which has already been delayed for years now. At the recent show and tell event, Musk said that the company has submitted most of the paperwork to FDA and expects the human trials to begin in about six months.
Not just the government but the company is also facing backlash from staff for animal welfare violations. The employees complain of the animal testing being rushed, causing unnecessary suffering and deaths.
Neuralink said to have violated Animal Welfare Act
The federal probe began in recent months by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as per the sources with knowledge of the investigation. The investigation focuses on transgressions of the Animal Welfare Act, which oversees how researchers treat and test some animals during an experiment.
Reuters went through company documents, including unreported messages, emails, and reports, and also interviewed more than 20 current and former employees at Neuralink to find a huge dissent on how Musk’s pressure to accelerate development is forcing the company to repeat tests that have failed before, thus increasing the number of deaths.
‘More than 1,500 animals were killed in Musk’s race to achieve results’
So far, Neuralink has reportedly killed about 1,500 animals, including sheep, pigs, and monkeys, since 2018, as per the records reviewed by Reuters. Though, sources familiar with the experiments say that the figure is a rough estimate as the company does not keep a precise record of the animal trials.
Though, the number of animal deaths does not mean that the company has been violating regulations since many other companies also use animals for research purposes and kill them afterward to examine them further. It is the number of animals being killed for Musk’s speed research that is higher than it needs to be.
What may happen to Musk’s plan of uploading Neuralink to humans
It is yet to see if this investigation could hamper Nueralink’s plan to begin trials on humans, which has already been delayed for years now. At the recent show and tell event, Musk said that the company has submitted most of the paperwork to FDA and expects the human trials to begin in about six months.
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