If Sam Altman and OpenAI can’t find enough training data on the internet, perhaps they can extract it directly from your brain. That’s not actually what’s going to happen (we think), but the OpenAI founder and the company under his thumb are looking to expand into the human brain.
The Financial Times reports that Altman is looking to found and fund (via the ChatGPT company) Merge Labs, a new startup that takes aim at the work being done by Neuralink. You know, the folks who stick computer chips into people’s skulls?
OpenAI your mind
The move isn’t surprising. When Altman isn’t lying talking about the capabilities of AI or trying to harvest the world’s iris biometric data with a fictional cryptocurrency, he’s expressing interest in machine-brain interfaces. According to the report, which cites three sources familiar with the matter, Altman’s co-founder for Merge Labs is Alex Blania, the current head of OpenAI-backed World — the folks trying to gather human iris data, for people who are too good to click links.
As with most pronouncements from OpenAI’s figurehead, there’s almost no concrete plan being shared for Merge Labs’ eventual strategy to create something. There is, however, an expected valuation for the company that doesn’t exist yet. The team that raises money to keep the artificial intelligence company running is looking to eventually value Merge Labs at $850 million. This’ll be for the purposes of fundraising, of course, and will bear no resemblance to reality.
Still, it makes headlines, and that’s what’s important. If Merge Labs does get off the ground and start creating brain interface hardware, it’ll be running into the wind. Neuralink is the highest-profile name in the field, but several other companies are also making strides in what’s possible when sticking a computer into someone’s brain. It’ll be an uphill battle for Merge Labs, but that won’t stop Sam Altman from raising cash on the possibility that it’ll eventually produce something useful.
