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Education

Elon Musk’s controversial Neuralink completes first-ever chip implantation in human brain

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From LifeSiteNews

By Ashley Sadler

The billionaire mogul said the subject ‘is recovering well.’

Billionaire mogul Elon Musk’s controversial company Neuralink successfully implanted a computer chip into the brain of a human subject for the first time on Sunday. The technology and its potential impact on humanity has sparked serious ethical concerns.

Musk announced the news in a post on his social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on Monday.

“The first human received an implant from [Neuralink] yesterday and is recovering well,” he said.

Musk said the company’s first product, named “Telepathy,” “[e]nables control of your phone or computer, and through them almost any device, just by thinking.”

“Initial users will be those who have lost the use of their limbs,” he said. “Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a speed typist or auctioneer. That is the goal.”

The news comes after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved human trials for the novel technology under an “investigational device exemption” in May 2023. In September, the company announced it had “received approval from the reviewing independent institutional review board and our first hospital site to begin recruitment for our first-in-human clinical trial.”

Through the trials, researchers are attempting to determine whether Neuralink’s “BCI [brain computer interface]” functions to help “people with paralysis to control external devices with their thoughts.”

But restoring motor function to people with mobility impairments isn’t the only or even the primary goal of the brain chips, a reality Musk hinted at in his Monday social media posts.

In a speech at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco in 2019, Musk explicitly stated that the “point” of Neuralink is “to secure humanity’s future as a civilization relative to AI.”

“After solving a bunch of brain-related diseases, there is the mitigation of the existential threat of AI,” he said, arguing the technology will “be really important at civilization level scale.” According to Musk, only by “merging” with AI will humans develop the capacity to stay ahead of and protect themselves from it.

Musk has suggested that the chips will ultimately enable users to do things like “save and replay memories,” functioning as a “backup drive for your non-physical being, your digital soul.”

“The future is going to be weird,” he joked.

RELATED: World Economic Forum speaker touts technology that allows your boss to monitor your brain activity

Critics of the technology have raised strong and persistent concerns about the general loss of privacy and autonomy occasioned by the widespread use of the technology, as well as the potential for it to be weaponized against citizens by tyrannical governments. 

Researchers assessing the impact of neurotechnology have identified “four new rights that may become of great relevance in the coming decades” amid the rise of implantable devices: “the right to cognitive liberty, the right to mental privacy, the right to mental integrity, and the right to psychological continuity.”

The technology presents serious philosophical and religious dilemmas as well.

Writing on the issue for The Catholic Stand in 2019, Ph.D. candidate and pro-life writer Christopher Reilly posed several major questions related to the technology’s impact on human beings, including: “Will use of the technology further erode respect for human dignity? … Will our spiritual identities become confused or damaged?” and “Does the technology enhance or detract from living in holiness?”

“The only thing obvious about all of this is that we need the guidance of the Church and tech-savvy theologians and philosophers,” Reilly wrote. “[A]nd we need that guidance very soon.”

Alberta

Parents in every province—not just Alberta—deserve as much school choice as possible

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From the Fraser Institute

By Michael Zwaagstra

Not only does Alberta have a fully funded separate (Catholic) school system, it also provides between 60 and 70 per cent operational funding to accredited independent schools. In addition, Alberta is the only province in Canada to allow fully funded charter schools. And Alberta subsidizes homeschooling parents.

This week, the Smith government in Alberta will likely pass Bill 27, which requires schools to get signed permission from parents or guardians prior to any lessons on human sexuality, gender identity or sexual orientation.

It’s a sensible move. The government is proactively ensuring that students are in these classes because their parents want them there. Given the sensitive nature of these topics, for everyone’s sake it makes sense to ensure parental buy-in at the outset.

Unfortunately, many school trustees don’t agree. A recent resolution passed by the Alberta School Boards Association (ASBA) calls on the Smith government to maintain the status quo where parents are assumed to have opted in to these lessons unless they contact the school and opt their children out. Apparently, the ASBA thinks parents can’t be trusted to make the right decisions for their children on this issue.

This ASBA resolution is, in fact, a good example of the reflexive opposition by government school trustees to parental rights. They don’t want parents to take control of their children’s education, especially in sensitive areas. Fortunately, the Alberta government rebuffed ASBA’s demands and this attempt to abolish Bill 27 will likely fall on deaf ears.

However, there’s an even better safeguard available to Alberta parents—school choice. Out of all Canadian provinces, Alberta offers the most school choice. Not only does Alberta have a fully funded separate (Catholic) school system, it also provides between 60 and 70 per cent operational funding to accredited independent schools. In addition, Alberta is the only province in Canada to allow fully funded charter schools. And Alberta subsidizes homeschooling parents. Simply put, parents who are dissatisfied with the government school system have plenty of options—more than parents in any other province. This means Alberta parents can vote with their feet.

Things are quite different in other parts of the country. For example, Ontario and the four Atlantic provinces do not allow any provincial funding to follow students to independent schools. In other words, parents in these provinces who choose an independent school must pay the full cost themselves—while still paying taxes that fund government schools. And no province other than Alberta allows charter schools.

This is why it’s important to give parents as much school choice as possible. Given the tendency of government school boards to remove choices from parents, it’s important that all parents, including those with limited means, have other options available for their children.

Imagine if the owners of a large grocery store tried to impose their dietary preferences by removing all meat products and telling customers that the only way they could purchase meat is to make a special order. What would happen in that scenario? It depends on what other options are available. If this was the only grocery store in the community, customers would have no choice but to comply. However, if there were other stores, customers could simply shop elsewhere. Choice empowers people and limits the ability of one company to limit the choices of people who live in the community.

Think of government school boards as a monopolistic service provider like a grocery store. They often do everything possible to prevent parents from going anywhere else for their children’s education. Trusting them to do what’s best for parents and children is like assuming that the owners of a grocery store would always put the interests of their customers first and not their own self-interest. Monopolies are bad in the private sector and they’re bad in the education sector, too.

Clearly, it makes sense to require schools to get proactive consent from parents. This ensures maximum buy-in from parents for whatever courses their children take. It’s also important that Alberta remains a bastion of school choice. By making it easier for parents to choose from a variety of education options, Alberta puts power in the hands of parents, exactly where it belongs. Parents in other provinces should want that same power, too.

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Alberta

Province investing in support for financial literacy in schools

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Financial literacy prepares students for their futures

Students across Alberta will build the fundamental life skills they need to grow into adulthood through support for financial literacy programming.

Saving, budgeting, investing and the ability to make wise financial decisions are fundamental life skills Alberta’s youth need to develop as they grow into adulthood. Alberta’s government is ensuring that students have every opportunity to develop these fundamental life skills by integrating financial literacy into the K-12 curriculum and providing grant funding to three Canadian organizations to offer dedicated financial learning resources for students and teachers.

“We are proud to support financial literacy programming for students. Our on-going support for financial literacy education will help young Albertans navigate their futures with confidence by helping them build the fundamental life skills they need to prosper and secure their futures in today’s fast-moving world.”

Demetrios Nicolaides, Minister of Education 

In May 2022, Alberta’s government invested $5 million over three years into financial literacy programming to ensure students have the financial knowledge they need to thrive in life. Enriched Academy receives $900,000 per year and the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education receives $500,000 per year to provide students in grades 5 to 12 with financial literacy programming, aligned with the curriculum, to improve their financial knowledge. In addition, Junior Achievement receives $250,000 per year to provide hands-on, experiential financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship education to students in kindergarten to Grade 6.

“Our support for financial literacy programming will set Alberta’s youth up for success. This programming will ensure that Alberta’s youth develop the fundamental life skills they need to manage their personal finances, make sound financial decisions, and grow into adulthood with confidence.”

Nate Horner, President of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance 

Free financial literacy webinar

Some of the funding provided will support Enriched Academy hosting a free live webinar for grades 4 to 12 students and teachers on Tuesday, November 26, as part of their financial literacy programming. The webinar will teach students how to build their credit with confidence and will feature an interactive gameshow format to engage and motivate students to learn how credit works and how to manage credit and their personal finances with confidence. Students and teachers who are interested in participating can register for the webinar online.

“Our partnership with the Government of Alberta has enabled us to deliver transformational financial literacy education to nearly six hundred thousand students across the province. As a high school teacher, I’ve witnessed firsthand how financial literacy education empowers students, increasing their confidence in money management and preparing them to be financially responsible. Investments in financial literacy are investments in our students’ futures, and I’m already seeing it pay dividends for Alberta students.”

Sonya Fox, Alberta director, Enriched Academy 

Teachers can also access lesson plans, activities, and interactive tools from all three organizations’ websites to support financial literacy learning outcomes in Alberta’s curriculum.

Quick facts

  • Financial literacy programming offered by the three organizations reaches more than 350,000 students annually.
  • Alberta’s renewed K-6 curriculum includes an increased emphasis on financial literacy skills, as well as a stronger foundation in financial literacy in all grades.

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