The “world's first head transplant” was created by US startup BrainBridge. Many people were stunned by this procedure.
BrainBridge, a neuroscience and biomedical engineering startup from the US, has claimed that they are developing the world's first head transplant system. According to their website, it is "a groundbreaking device that will represent a landmark achievement in the fields of neuroscience, human engineering, and artificial intelligence."
A video showing how BrainBridge will be doing the head transplant with the help of robots was shared on social media, and it has gone viral. The animated video shows two surgical robots operating on two bodies at the same time. From one body, they remove the head and places it on the other body. The animation further shows how the robots would work on the body if this technology becomes a reality.
As per BrainBridge, this system is a "revolutionary concept for head transplant system, employing cutting-edge robotics and artificial intelligence to ensure successful head and face transplantation procedures with improved outcomes and faster recoveries."
Optimistically, it could be used to help match quadriplegics with brain dead donors. And be used to refine microsurgical processes that would help many with various levels of nerve damage. Presuming the donor body is able to be controlled by the head. I think this has been done with monkeys and the result was quadriplegic monkeys.
Pessimistically, it’s as you say, billionaire immortality.
Kind of starts to create a Ship of Theseus paradox with a human subjects and would be interesting to see what kind of psychology comes about when brains change bodies.
Yeah absolutely fucking no way I am letting a start up do surgery on any part of me.
Also I think it's hilarious that the article put the video in the form of a tweet... Which pulls with it the user context explaining that head transplants are not currently possible hahahah.
Aren't typical organ transplants fraught with issues? Like the body rejecting the organ?
How would this work with a head on another body?? I'd imagine it must be more difficult to force the body to accept the new head. I don't see any mention of this in the article.
Technically, I think it would be a body transplant, not a head transplant, and the transplanted organ would actually reject you since the immune system is part of the body, not the head.
I didn't call it a head transplant.. but yes that's what I was getting at. I would imagine that this needs something beyond immunosuppresants, not to mention how does the nervous system work? It can't be as simple as plug in and go.