Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Jun 23, 2025

Neuralink co-founder quits weeks after hinting brain-tweaking software could reanimate dinosaurs in Jurassic-Park situation

Neuralink co-founder quits weeks after hinting brain-tweaking software could reanimate dinosaurs in Jurassic-Park situation

The co-founder of Tesla tycoon Elon Musk’s controversial neural implant project quietly left the firm last month, only revealing his departure on Saturday via Twitter. Max Hodak had actually left the company in early April.

Hodak, who co-founded Neuralink with Musk, was most recently seen speculating about the potential for the project to semi-reanimate dead dinosaur species a la ‘Jurassic Park’.


The engineer has thus far remained silent about his reasons for quitting, insisting he “learned a ton [at Neuralink] and remain[s] a huge cheerleader for the company!” However, an individual questioning Hodak on his future projects seemed to have inspired him to eat his words. Asked what was next for him, Hodak tweeted “not Jurassic Park.”


Hodak and Musk launched Neuralink in 2016, with Hodak bringing a background in biomedical engineering while Musk brought his bottomless well of ideas. Prior to climbing on board with Musk’s invention, Hodak founded a company called Transcriptic, which has been described in the tech press as a “robotic cloud laboratory for the life sciences.”

In the hyper-competitive aura of Silicon Valley, some have speculated that Hodak may have enjoyed working on Neuralink so much that he opted to build something along those lines himself. However, others have suggested that “troubles at the management level” are responsible – and certainly Musk is accustomed to being the sole man in charge at his other companies, Tesla, SpaceX, and Starlink.

Neuralink may be the most controversial of all Musk’s projects. The billionaire has waffled back and forth between claiming the brain-to-AI setup is merely intended to help humans with severe health problems, including the paralyzed and others who can’t communicate with the outside world, and stating it’s an effort to make human beings more competitive as AI grows in strength and ubiquity.

“We will not be able to be smarter than a digital supercomputer, so, therefore, if you cannot beat’em, join [‘em],” Musk infamously said during a 2019 podcast, suggesting the “existential risk associated with digital superintelligence" was too great for humans to face on their own. Other stated (and less disturbing) aims for the project include “understanding the human brain.”

Musk and other engineers have suggested that, due to the miniature scale of the operation required to implant a functional Neuralink setup into the human brain, the entire process should be done robotically. The company’s team claims to have implanted Neuralink chips into the brains of monkeys and pigs, supposedly giving the creatures the ability to “play video games using [their] mind.” However, skeptics have argued the experimental animals’ Neuralink-enhanced activities are more like playing ultra-simplistic video games like ‘Pong’ than surfing the internet.

At least a few reactions to Hodak’s announcement sounded alarmed, with one commenter suggesting Hodak’s tweet read “like a ransom note.”


Another pointed out that it was “too early” for him to quit, as Neuralink had still not debuted its flagship product. Hodak seemed to agree with the latter opinion.


Others were simply itching to see what came next – and hoping the company’s cofounder could spill the beans on how far along Neuralink really was. Musk’s work tends to be shrouded in secrecy, accumulating huge amounts of rumors before it is finally introduced. Given the potential military applications for Neuralink, it’s quite possible that the technology won’t see the light of day for quite some time.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
UK Home Secretary Apologizes Over Child Grooming Failures
×