Foreign media: Musk's brain-computer interface company was investigated or involved in animal experiment violations

　　China News Service, December 6. According to Reuters, citing sources on the 5th, Musk's "brain-computer interface" company Neuralink is facing a US federal investigation, which may be because it violated animal welfare laws during animal experiments.

Data map: Musk.

　　The U.S. Department of Agriculture's inspector general launched the probe in recent months at the request of federal prosecutors, and the probe focuses on whether the company violated animal welfare laws during animal experiments, according to two people familiar with the matter.

　　According to dozens of Neuralink company documents and more than 20 current and former employees of the company, company CEO Elon Musk's demands to speed up the development process caused the company's employees to repeat failed experiments, which increased the number of people who were tested and killed. number of animals.

　　So far, Musk and other Neuralink executives have not responded.

　　In total, Neuralink has killed about 1,500 animals since 2018, including more than 280 sheep, pigs and monkeys, according to records reviewed by Reuters and sources with direct knowledge of the company's animal testing operations.

Sources said the figure was a rough estimate because the company did not keep accurate records of the number of animals tested and killed.

　　Of course, the number of animal deaths by itself does not necessarily indicate that Neuralink violated relevant regulations.

But Neuralink employees say more animals died than needed because of Musk's demands to speed up the research.

　　Four of the experiments that could be identified involved 86 pigs and 2 monkeys with apparent human error.

Three anonymous staff members said that these errors weakened the research value of the experiment, led to a large number of repeated experiments, and more animals were killed.

People familiar with the matter blamed the error on poor preparation of testers working in a high-pressure environment.

　　It is reported that Musk has been working hard to promote Neuralink to develop chip-connected brain technology, which is expected to restore walking to paralyzed patients or treat other neurological diseases.

But Musk has become increasingly impatient recently. He has repeatedly told employees to "imagine a bomb strapped to your head" so that they can move faster.

　　Musk hopes to start human clinical trials as soon as possible, but the company has tried many times and still has not obtained a regulatory license.