To ChatGPT: What is the evidence pro or con that a Neuralink Blindsight brain implant in visual cortex will give vision to congenitally blind people as claimed without any evidence by Elon Musk? https://chatgpt.com/share/6870e34e-1abc-8004-a243-772964c39afa Here’s the summary of current evidence **for and against** Elon Musk’s claim that the Neuralink *Blindsight* implant will restore sight—particularly in those **born blind with visual cortex intact**. --- ### ✅ Proponents' View (Neuralink & FDA designation) * Neuralink’s *Blindsight* received FDA “breakthrough device” status in **September 2024**, qualifying it for accelerated development ([IEEE Spectrum][1]). * Elon Musk stated that it could restore vision even in congenitally blind individuals—as long as their visual cortex hasn’t been damaged—first at Atari-like resolution, with potential for enhancements beyond natural vision ([New York Post][2]). * Preclinical work: Monkeys have been trained to respond to stimuli mediated purely by the implant—achieving about 67% correct in simple detection tasks . --- ### ❌ Scientific & Clinical Doubts 1. **No evidence of visual percepts in congenital blindness** Experts note: > “Congenitally totally blind people do not get visual percepts from electrically stimulating their visual cortex… There is zero evidence that visual percepts can still arise at a later stage in congenitally blind people.” ([seeingwithsound.com][3]) 2. **Cross-modal neuroplasticity limits restoration** Decades of research show that in those born blind, the visual cortex often reorganizes to process sound or touch—leaving little capacity for visual signals ([Wikipedia][4], [seeingwithsound.com][3]). 3. **Success only in late-blind, limited results** Brain-stimulation implants (e.g., Intracortical Visual Prosthesis Project) used in late-blind individuals have shown rudimentary perceptions like phosphenes or movement detection—**not full conscious sight** ([seeingwithsound.com][3], [IEEE Spectrum][1]). 4. **Visual system complexity is huge** The human visual system involves tens of millions of neurons and highly specialized regions. Experts agree expecting full or superhuman vision from an electrode array is overambitious . --- ### 🧠 How *Blindsight* actually works * **Stimuli recording**: A camera captures visual scenes. * **Signal conversion**: The visual information is transformed into electrical pulses. * **Direct cortex stimulation**: Electrodes stimulate V1 or nearby regions to evoke visual sensations. This bypasses the eyes and optic nerves entirely ([IEEE Spectrum][1]). --- ### ⚠️ Reality Check | Claim | Evidence | Realistic Outlook | | --------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- | | Vision for congenital blind | ⚠️ No prior human trials; brain plasticity likely repurposes V1 | Probably **not feasible** in the near term | | Vision for late-blind | ✅ Some success in detecting phosphenes & movement | May achieve **rudimentary visual perception**, not full vision | | Superhuman vision (IR/UV) | 🧪 Theoretical only; no data | Highly speculative and unproven | --- ### 🧭 Summary * **Scientists caution**: There is **zero solid evidence** that congenital blindness can be reversed by V1 stimulation alone ([Wikipedia][4], [The Times of India][5], [seeingwithsound.com][3], [WIRED][6], [IEEE Spectrum][1]). * **Early clinical studies**: Show limited perception in late-blind individuals, not full-fledged vision . * **Neuralink's approach**: Is consistent with existing cortical prosthetic research—but lacks published clinical data. * **Experts emphasize caution**: While the tech is promising, Musk’s vision may create inflated expectations ([IEEE Spectrum][1]). --- ### 🔜 Conclusion While the *Blindsight* implant is innovative and may afford **basic visual perception** to those with intact visual cortex, **current neuroscience strongly disputes** the claim that someone born fully blind could see via V1 stimulation. The best-supported outcomes involve **late-blind adults** with extremely limited, low-resolution vision—and even that remains experimental. --- Let me know if you'd like to dive deeper into specific trials (like ICVP), neuroplasticity literature, or the comparisons to retinal prosthesis systems! [1]: https://spectrum.ieee.org/neuralink-blindsight?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Neuralink's Blindsight Device Is Likely to Disappoint - IEEE Spectrum" [2]: https://nypost.com/2024/09/18/business/elon-musks-neuralink-receives-fdas-breakthrough-device-status-for-blindsight-implant/?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Elon Musk's Neuralink brain chip receives FDA's 'breakthrough device' status - and could help blind people see again" [3]: https://www.seeingwithsound.com/neuralink.htm?utm_source=chatgpt.com "White paper: Why The vOICe will likely defeat Neuralink Blindsight" [4]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_modal_plasticity?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Cross modal plasticity" [5]: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/elon-musks-neuralink-may-be-using-monkeys-to-give-humans-superpowers/articleshow/121838358.cms?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Elon Musk's Neuralink may be using monkeys to give humans 'superpowers'" [6]: https://www.wired.com/story/the-next-frontier-for-brain-implants-is-artificial-vision-neuralink-elon-musk?utm_source=chatgpt.com "The Next Frontier for Brain Implants Is Artificial Vision" %%% Me to ChatGPT: "Strong evidence against the idea of giving vision to congenitally blind people is the case of Mike May, who lost eyesight at age 3 and technically regained eyesight decades later, but regained little functional vision (e.g. object recognition). Apparently brain plasticity in early life had largely wiped out the normal vision he had up to age 3, and adult brain plasticity could not undo that." ✅ **Exactly! Mike May’s case** is actually one of the best-known real-world *counterexamples* that illustrates how powerful — and limiting — early brain plasticity can be for “restoring” vision, even when the *eyes* are fixed surgically. --- ## 🔬 **Who is Mike May?** * Mike May lost his vision at age **3** in a chemical accident. * He grew up blind and learned to navigate life with non-visual senses. * Decades later, as an adult, he had a pioneering corneal stem cell transplant and a new cornea lens implant. * Medically, the surgery worked: light reached his retinas again. * **However**, he did *not* regain normal functional vision. --- ## 🧠 **Why did he still struggle?** > *“The biggest surprise was that even though my eyes could now see, my brain could not make sense of it.”* — Mike May * Because he lost vision so early, the **visual cortex rewired** during his developmental “critical period” to process other senses and tasks. * As an adult, his brain could not re-learn all the complex mappings needed for tasks like: * Recognizing faces. * Seeing depth or shading. * Reading facial expressions. * He could detect motion and colors but struggled with objects, scenes, and perspective. --- ## 🔎 **Why is this relevant for Neuralink’s claim?** * Mike May shows that even with a *working retina and optic nerve*, the brain may not “see” in a functionally useful way if the neural pathways were not maintained during early development. * For people born fully blind (from birth or infancy), the challenge is even bigger: * **No established visual memories** to build on. * **Cross-modal plasticity**: Visual cortex is likely repurposed for auditory/tactile processing. * Adult brains have very limited ability to reorganize V1 back to its original visual function. --- ## ⚡ **Key lesson for Neuralink Blindsight** * A *brain implant* can’t restore the visual *circuitry* that never developed or was reallocated. * Stimulating V1 might generate random phosphenes (spots of light) but not coherent scenes. * If Mike May couldn’t fully “see” with an intact eye–retina–optic nerve chain, it is even less plausible that direct V1 electrical stimulation alone will conjure useful vision for the congenitally blind. --- ## 📚 **Supporting references** * *An Anthropologist on Mars* by Oliver Sacks (classic case studies, including Virgil’s similar story). * *Fixing My Gaze* by Susan Barry (“Stereo Sue”)—shows how limited adult plasticity is for relearning even a single visual skill. * Research on *critical periods* and *cross-modal neuroplasticity* (e.g., Sadato et al., 1996, Nature). --- ✅ **Bottom line**: Mike May’s experience is strong real-world evidence **against** Elon Musk’s claim that *Blindsight* will give functional vision to the congenitally blind. It’s a cautionary tale: *restoring input to the eyes or cortex does not guarantee the brain can interpret it as sight.* If you’d like, I can pull specific neuroscience papers on this, or show how sensory substitution methods (like The vOICe) avoid this trap altogether.