Elon Musk’s start up Neuralink has been working on a “brain-machine interface” . This week the secretive start-up revealed it has been testing brain implants on animals, and that it has successfully placed an implant in a monkey brain allowing it to control a computer.

Musk hopes that the implant will be used initially on patients with serious brain injuries of diseases allowing them to communicate their thoughts. He plans to seek FDA approval to begin clinical trials as early as 2020.

Neuralink works by inserting thin strands into the brain, via a tiny robot controlled by a neurosurgeon. The stands then interface with the electrical activity of the brain.

Musk’s worry about the current threat AI poses to humanity is well know. And he hopes his new technology will allow humans and machines to work together in “symbiosis”, so humans will not be left behind in the AI revolution.

Read More: The Guardian