--- title: "Elon Musk Says Neuralink Has a Monkey Playing Video Games With Its Mind" description: "Elon Musk's Neuralink has implanted a device into a monkey that allows it to play video games in its mind. Learn more about this new device." date: "2021-02-01" modified: "2021-02-12" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-neuralink-monkey-video-games-mind" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "brain" - "elon musk" - "neuralink" - "the digest" --- # Elon Musk Says Neuralink Has a Monkey Playing Video Games With Its Mind ![Neuralink co-founder Elon Musk says the brain-computer interface startup has implanted a monkey with a device that allows it to play games with its mind.]() *\Image: Syed Ahmed via Unsplash / Futurism\* ## Monkey Business During an [appearance last night]() on the app Clubhouse, Neuralink co-founder Elon Musk said that the brain-computer interface startup has implanted a monkey with a device that allows it to play video games with its mind. "We have a monkey with a wireless implant in their skull with tiny wires who can play video games with his mind," Musk said during the appearance, [according to *Bloomberg*'s transcript](). ## Animal Model The claim provides a new sense of momentum for Neuralink, which has been quiet since it [revealed experimental devices it had implanted in pigs]() late last summer. As he did at the pig event, Musk emphasized the wellbeing of the animal. “You can’t see where the implant is and he’s a happy monkey," he said during the event. "We have the nicest monkey facilities in the world. We want them to play mind-Pong with each other.” ## Brain Gains It's still unclear how long it might be until the device is mature enough for human users — and, of course, that's assuming it succeeds at all. Musk's remarks about a human version of Neuralink during the event were hard to parse and open to interpretation. "There are primitive versions of this device with wires sticking out of your head, but it’s like a Fitbit in your skull with tiny wires that go into your brain," he said, according to *Bloomberg*. **READ MORE:** [Elon Musk Says He Wired Up a Monkey’s Brain to Play Video Games]() \[*Bloomberg*\] **More on Neuralink:** [*People Are Begging Elon Musk to Drill Holes in Their Skulls*]() ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()