"My grandparents developed dementia, and I couldn't do anything to help. Maybe that spurred me, but from a young age I was very interested in brain science. I want to build a future where human behavior and life are not constrained by biological reasons."
Seo Dong-jin, 36, co-founder of the U.S. company Neuralink, said in a lecture at the Korea Education Foundation in Gangnam District, Seoul, on the 15th, "Neuralink's biggest goal is to solve neurological diseases and reduce human suffering."
Neuralink is a brain-computer interface (BCI) development corporations founded in 2016 by Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk along with Seo and eight other scientists. BCI is a technology that converts brain waves into electrical signals so information can be exchanged with a computer. In other words, it reads a person's thoughts and moves a computer cursor or operates a robotic arm accordingly.
Seo immigrated to the United States at age 4, graduated from the California Institute of Technology with a degree in electrical engineering, and received a doctorate in electrical engineering, computer science, and neuroscience from the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley). In 2020, the Technology Review published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) selected him as one of the "35 Innovators Under 35."
Neuralink has developed an implantable brain electrode (electronic chip) called "Telepathy." Telepathy is an ultra-fine threadlike electrode one-twentieth the thickness of a human hair that is surgically implanted in a patient's brain. The electrode detects brain signals and can wirelessly transmit data to an external computer.
Seo said, "So far, 12 patients with physical disabilities such as paralysis have received Neuralink chips and are operating keyboards, mice, wheelchairs, and robotic arms," adding, "Participants use the devices an average of 7 hours and 40 minutes a day, similar to the average person's smartphone usage time."
Neuralink aims not only to control computers or robots with thoughts, but also to enable paralyzed patients to move again. Seo said, "Patients with spinal cord injuries cannot move because motor commands from the brain do not reach the spinal cord. If we place electrodes on the motor cortex and the sensory cortex, respectively, read the signals directly, and deliver them to the limbs, they can move," adding, "The key to the technology is placing the electrodes as close as possible to the neurons (nerve cells)."
Seo also unveiled Neuralink's new clinical trial plan. He said, "Starting next month, we will begin a new clinical trial for patients with speech impairment who cannot speak," adding, "We will capture brain signals and synthesize them into sound so that conversation is possible without a keyboard."
The vision restoration device "Blindsight" will also begin clinical trials next year for patients with visual impairments. Seo said, "It is a technology that stimulates the brain's visual cortex according to the information from scenes recorded by a camera, enabling people with visual impairments to imagine images," adding, "We are developing it with the goal of clinical trials next year."
After the lecture, there was also a conversation with Jung Jae-seung, a professor in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). Jung first asked about the story of the first meeting with Elon Musk.
Seo said, "Until the mid-2000s, BCI remained at the laboratory level, but I judged that commercialization was necessary," adding, "Around the time I graduated, Musk came to me and proposed we start a BCI company together, turning my dream into reality."
Asked about Musk's decision-making style, he said, "He values 'urgency' in product development," adding, "He always emphasizes that the future doesn't come by itself—we have to make it. Thanks to his characteristic rapid feedback, we can run iterative experiments."
Seo said, "AI is advancing rapidly, but Neuralink's data is still insufficient," adding, "What matters most now is scaling up the technology based on more than 15,000 hours of accumulated brain-signal data."
He introduced that about 300 experts in various fields—BCI, neuroscience, robotics, microfabrication, surgery, and pathology—are currently working at Neuralink. When a student asked, "What preparation is needed to join Neuralink," Seo advised, "To work at Neuralink, you don't need deep knowledge of the brain; what's important is having expertise and creativity in one field, such as electrical, mechanical, or robotics engineering."
On Neuralink's future, Seo said, "In three to four years, the number of healthy people will decrease and the number of people who need Neuralink will increase," adding, "Ultimately, the goal is to help reduce human suffering." He added, "At the 2028 (competitive) e-sports Olympics, a patient implanted with a Neuralink chip might even win a gold medal."