On Sunday, January 29, Neuralink implemented the first chip implanted directly into the human brain. On the same day, China publicly set a deadline for the development of its own “brain-computer interface.”

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The country’s government has added this technology of the future to its list of “innovative milestone products”. They plan to “make breakthroughs in fundamental technologies and important devices such as brain-computer fusion, brain-like chips, and brain-computer neural models” in the coming years. The first finished copies should appear in 2025.

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced that it wants to develop some easy-to-use brain interface products. The Ministry states that Brain technology could be used in self-driving, virtual reality and medical rehabilitation. It has been repeatedly stated that “Brain-inspired intelligence”, also known as generative artificial intelligence, is potentially compatible with these new technologies.

In fact, the country has been working on this technology for a while but has only now determined clear timelines.

• Last year, the Chinese government opened a 60-person laboratory focused entirely on brain-machine interfaces. The lab is primarily focused on turning its research into practical applications that could rival Elon Musk’s Neuralink.
• Researchers in China have also developed a computing device that connects to the brain via the inner ear. This device does not require a chip to be implanted like Neuralink, but can still provide “full bandwidth data transmission” to the brain.

Neuralink’s development of implanting chips into the human brain is a significant advance, but the technology is still in its infancy. Musk’s company believes brain-computer interfaces could help people with disabilities. Neuralink asked people who are paralyzed, deaf or have vision loss to be the first to participate in the brain chip implantation study. Many other companies in the US are working on similar technologies, and some have achieved even greater success.