What do brain implants do and why is Elon Musk making them?

Matthew Sparkes in New Scientist:

Neuralink was founded in 2016 by Elon Musk, who also runs SpaceX, Tesla and X, formerly Twitter, to create brain-computer interfaces: devices connected to the brain that allow people to communicate with computers by thought alone.

These devices could allow you to carry out simple tasks like searching for information or performing complex calculations with computers. They could theoretically also create technological telepathy, restore sight to people who are blind and enable paralysed people to control prostheses and regain their movement. Musk has said in the past that his company’s technology could allow humans to form “a sort of symbiosis” with AI.

More here.