The company has killed about 1,500 animals in total since it began testing them in 2018, according to internal records and testimony from several employees.
Neuralink, the company founded by Elon Musk to create neural devices that amplify human capabilities, is being investigated for possible abuse of the animals it uses in its trials, according to documents seen by Reuters.
The alleged investigation was opened months ago by the Department of Agriculture, an executive unit of the US Federal Government, at the request of the prosecutor to investigate possible violations of the Animal Welfare Law, which regulates the treatment and testing of animals by the employees.
The process is taking place as employee discontent grows, Reuters reports, over how animal experiments are conducted. They say that Musk’s pressure on them to speed up the rate of development of his neural implants leads to failures that lead to death and suffering.
In all, the company has killed some 1,500 animals, including more than 280 sheep, pigs and monkeys due to experiments conducted since 2018, according to documents reviewed by Reuters and testimony from people with direct knowledge of these processes. It is an estimate, they acknowledge, because the company does not have precise records on the number and manner in which the animals die.
It’s just an investigation for now.
The number of deaths alone does not in any way indicate that any laws are being violated or that practices deviate from the industry standard. Many companies experiment on animals that are killed at the end of the experiment for autopsy. Without this possibility, the knowledge we have about living beings and the speed with which drugs can be tested and developed would be drastically limited. To discover the insulin that saves the lives of millions of diabetics, experiments had to be carried out with dogs.
The scope of the investigation and whether it is related to the issues reported by employees cannot yet be determined. Neuralink has passed all the inspections of its facilities according to the regulatory documentation.
But the employees confess to having regretted suffering and deaths that could have been avoided. Reuters identified four tests using 86 pigs and two monkeys in which human error rendered the experiments useless and had to be repeated. Error attributed to the “lack of preparation of test personnel working in a high-pressure environment.”
Known is Musk’s work philosophy. During the most delicate periods of Tesla’s production, the businessman admitted sleeping in the factory. After the purchase of Twitter, employees were encouraged to work from the office as many hours as necessary to demonstrate their excellence. To speed up Neuralink’s process, Musk resorts to the same tactics, the employees interviewed say. “Imagine that you have a time bomb attached to you, that’s how I want you to work,” the businessman tells them, according to the words of one of his employees, who are regularly reproached for not going fast enough, which would lead to business failure. .
when rush kills
According to testimonials, employees advocate testing in the traditional way, testing each item thoroughly and using animals only when strictly necessary. However, they denounce, Neuralink performs tests one after the other before solving the problems of the previous experiment one hundred percent. These rushes induce them to make mistakes and have to repeat them, which implies killing more animals.
In a 2021 study, 25 out of 60 pigs used were implanted with the wrong size device. A mistake that could have been avoided by making preparations with more time and caution, a person with knowledge of the situation told Reuters. On another occasion, the device was implanted in the wrong vertebra in the spine of two pigs that had to be immediately euthanized to prevent their suffering.
However, Neuralink treats the animals very well compared to other research centers, acknowledge the employees who ensure that the monkeys live in suitable environments. Musk told them that he wanted them to live like in a “Taj Mahal” because he said that since he disliked the idea of having to experiment on them he hoped they would at least be the “happiest animals in the world” while they lived. The problem is when experimenting because of haste and mistakes, not because of contempt for animal life.
Neuralink ensures that it is only tested on animals when the rest of the options have previously been exhausted. However, the records that Reuters has been able to analyze contain numerous references to surgeries performed over the years of an exploratory nature, and three people with knowledge of the company’s investigation strongly denied that Neuralink avoids performing these tests.
Heading to be tested in humans
Neuralink’s first objective is to offer people with severe mobility problems a more efficient way to communicate with their phone. The implant captures the user’s intention and transfers it to the phone. Thought and action united without using the hands as a mediator. This is just the first step, as Musk is confident that this device can be used to restore vision or mobility in paralyzed patients by manipulating electrical impulses in the brain and spinal cord. “There are no limitations to govern our entire body,” he said in the company’s latest presentation.
The capabilities of this computer that is implanted in the brain could begin to be tested in humans in 2023. “The only thing left is for the FDA (American Food and Drug Administration) to give us its approval,” said the businessman.