Neuralink, millionaire Elon Musk’s neurotechnology company, is accused of injuring and killing macaque monkeys in its quest to develop new projects based on brain implants, in order to synchronize human minds with artificial intelligence and computers.
8 News Channel announced that the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), is suing Neuralink for its production of brain chips and the damage they have caused to 23 Macaque monkeys used to test the technology at the University of California, Davis.
Doctors argue that using taxpayer money, the technology Experimental and testing of Neuralink at UC Davis has led to monkeys suffering serious health problems and death due to electrodes implanted in their brains.
Musk has explained that the purpose of the brain implant is to synchronize human minds. anas with artificial intelligence and computers, where the macaques are bearing the brunt.
PCRM sued Neuralink in a California court and also filed a complaint with the US Department of Agriculture, alleging that the company has violated the Animal Welfare Act.
To date, UC Davis has refused to provide visual records, such as videos and photographs, to PCRM, alleging that the materials are proprietary Neuralink and are not subject to public record laws as a private company.
However, the laboratory that conducting the experiments is part of the California National Primate Research Center and is funded by taxpayer resources.
By extracting medical records from the test monkeys used by Neuralink, made up of 600 pages, PCRM charges that the technology company and UC Davis had not attended properly gone to the monkeys in question, resulting in their injury, suffering, and death.
The approximately 23 pages of documentation obtained by PCRM contain death records, necropsy reports, behavioral observations, and test notes for multiple surgeries for the monkeys, dating back to experiments performed since 2018.
Injuries to primates include: Abrasions , facial trauma, discomfort, lack of appetite, weight loss, bleeding, and unwillingness to eat or return to their pens.
In a copy of PCRM’s complaint, the organization’s attorneys argue that Neuralink and UC Davis must hand over images and records due to the funding status of the laboratories in question.
PCRM notes that UC Davis has withheld the records “under the pretext of avoiding a chilling effect on academic research” and the institution also s has pointed out that Neuralink has independently removed all of their computer and storage systems from the CNPRC, so they have no materials to provide.
“UC Davis may have turned over its publicly funded facilities to a billionaire, but that doesn’t mean it can evade the requirements of transparency and violate federal animal welfare laws,” said Jeremy Beckham, research advocacy coordinator with the Physicians Committee. “The documents reveal that the monkeys had their brains mutilated in shoddy experiments and left to suffer and die.”
With respect to the lawsuit, UC Davis has said that they fully comply with the Law of Public Records of California and who strive to provide the best possible care to the animals in their care.
For their part, Neuralink and its executive director, Elon Musk, have expressed no position in this regard .
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