Neuralink, a brain chip company founded by Elon Musk, was accused of implanting chips in the brains of monkeys, which is animal cruelty, and officially filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. And it was the University of California, which assisted Neuralink in conducting animal experiments, to report this behavior. Neuralink, on the other hand, says they treat all animals with the utmost humaneness.
In April 2021, Neuralink published the chip “Link” installed in the brain, and pointed out that this chip can help monkeys to complete a video game without learning, just “thinking”. However, a group of doctors sued that the University of California charged Neuralink US$1.4 million (about HK$10.92 million) to conduct brain experiments on monkeys. During the experiment, they did not provide proper care to the dying monkeys and damaged a part of the monkeys. Brain tissue buried with substances that can kill monkeys. The monkeys were trapped in cages alone for a long time, their skulls were embedded with steel pillars, and the facial trauma caused the monkeys to become infected, and some monkeys were even euthanized.
The group of doctors said the University of California, as a public-funded institution, may violate its obligations to be transparent about incidents, as well as federal animal welfare laws.
The University of California pointed out that the experimental records are not the object of the disclosure of information law, and the content of the data belongs to Neuralink, so it refused to disclose the photos related to the experiments. Neuralink said that the company treats all animals in the most humane and ethical manner. Experiments on monkeys are not cruelty to animals, but experiments that are necessary before human clinical experiments. Neuralink pointed out that the treatment of diseases and the prevention of the spread of viruses in today’s society all depend on the development of technology and medical progress, and medical progress sometimes requires the use of animals for research purposes, emphasizing the responsible conduct of animal experiments.
source:Physicians Committee
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