Don’t be brainwashed – Elon Musk’s ‘bionic pig’ is just a publicity stunt | Arwa Mahdawi

The billionaire entrepreneur loves to make headline-grabbing claims, but behind the hype his innovations are often underwhelming

Here is a philosophical conundrum: if no one is talking about Elon Musk, does he really exist? The entrepreneur needs attention the way mortals need oxygen. If the 49-year-old is not in the news for a couple of days, he finds a way to shoehorn himself back into the headlines - even if it means piggybacking on international efforts to rescue children trapped in a cave, or calling his child X AE A-12.

Behold the billionaire's latest stunt: a bionic pig. On Friday, Musk livestreamed a progress update" on Neuralink, his neuroscience startup. The star of the show was Gertrude, a pig with a chip in her brain. Musk is betting we will all soon be clamouring to get what Gertie has, which is what Musk described as a Fitbit in your skull". Neuralink's ambition is to develop mass-market brain-computer interfaces that allow you to control things with your mind, as well as to cure depression, spinal injuries and neurological disorders.