Video simulates head transplantation performed via AI and goes viral on the internet; understand
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An animation made waves on the internet for showing, in a (apparently) very realistic way, what a head transplant. The idea even has a fictitious company and interested investors, but many people were against it and even ethical issues were highlighted. Understand the subject completely now.
BrainBridge, the startup that doesn't exist
The procedure presented in the video is a surgery completely carried out by robots, which make precise cuts and then connect vessels and nerve endings, closing and concluding everything with the support of the artificial intelligence present in the language model.
Presenting the procedure as “The world’s first revolutionary head transplant system concept, employing cutting-edge robotics and artificial intelligence to ensure successful head and face transplant procedures”, BrainBridge It's a startup that doesn't really exist and isn't connected to any other company.
Despite this, the fake startup has a own website quite convincing that shows all the concepts. In addition, you can also, hypothetically, apply to be one of the people to have a body (or head, depending on the reference) transplant, free of charge. There is also a careers page to work at BrainBridge.
Returning to reality, the video that shows the transplant was developed by Hashem Al-Ghaili, Yemeni science communicator and film director. Al-Ghaili is not inexperienced in creating viruses involving health: in 2022, he was responsible for producing the concept of the first laboratory for artificial wombs of the world and many people actually believed this to be true.
The idea of BrainBridge was financed by alex zhavoronkovfounder of Insilico Medicine , a large AI-assisted pharmaceutical company that is also a prominent figure in anti-aging research.
In the video, also posted on LinkedIn and later replicated on other social networks, a model of Alex's head is transplanted from one body to another. The content also received funding from “important and famous people”, but the names were not commented by Alex.
Uploaded to YouTube on May 21, the production already has 173 thousand views and, on Facebook alone, more than 24 thousand comments were made in the first two days. Such noise made by the company was enough for the newspaper New York Post announce that the BrainBridge it was a real company and the first surgery would be done in the next eight years.
The reception of the video showing the head transplant is mixed: while many people were shocked at how it would be done and the recovery would happen in a shorter time than normal, there was a majority who were strongly against it, citing that the idea was “disgusting, immoral, unnecessary, pagan, demonic and idiotic”.
The example of a person who suffered a motorcycle accident was also given: if someone dies from brain damage, it is possible to transplant the heart, liver and kidneys, in order to save several other people. Would it really be right to give your body to save just one life?
But, despite being a simulation, it can be said that the BrainBridge is not the first to address the subject.
Can head transplant be done in real life?
An experiment like this has already been done in the past: in the early 1970s, the American neurosurgeon Robert White transplanted the head of a monkey into a new body by sewing together its circulatory systems.
The data from this study indicate that the experiment actually worked, but only for a while: despite remaining conscious for a few days and even being able to see, the animal died after eight days.
In addition to seeing, the first monkey to undergo a head transplant was able to smell, hear, and even bend the fingers of one of White's colleagues. The big problem with all this is that the animal was unable to move its new body, as at the time there was no technology (and there still isn't to this day) to reconnect the hundreds of millions of nerves in a spinal cord.
When we talk about humans, it would probably also be necessary to live in a paralyzed body, as the spinal cord would be severed and the nerve connections would be broken. But it is worth remembering that there are cases of people who recovered part of their movements after an accident.
In Europe, for example, some paralyzed people walked again after doctors overcame spinal injuries with electronic devices. Other scientists in China are studying growth factors to regenerate nerves.
The idea of BainBridge, even though it presents itself as unrealistic with current technology, it opens up space for discussions about the viability of the procedure, as well as ethical dilemmas.
Video creators received support
Although the company does not exist, the BrainBridge It could come to fruition in a future that shouldn't be as distant as we imagine. The creators received emails from investors who want to finance the technical feasibility study of head transplantation, in addition to the investors who made the creation of the concept video possible.
The negativity is huge, to be honest. But behind this are those who send emails. These are people who want to invest or who express their personal health challenges. These are the ones that matter.
Hashem Al-Ghaili, Yemeni science communicator, film director and creator of the head transplant video
Now, we just have to wait for more news about head (or body) transplantation and see if it can be made possible. In addition to the need for large studies on the human body, people would have to be selected for tests in practice.
What comes next?
Head transplantation is an experiment we need to watch closely, but in fact, there are more questions than answers. The big question is, if the procedure is developed, how these tests will be carried out and whether it will work once it is brought into real life.
In fact, we are only in the first chapter of this story, so follow the updates on the subject in the next articles on showmetech. Furthermore, we invite you to access our Science and Technology category, which has several articles on curious subjects.
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What do you think of the idea of head transplantation? Tell us Comment!
See also other features
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With information: MIT Technology Review l University of St. Thomas l Evolving.AI
reviewed by Glaucon Vital in 27 / 5 / 24.
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