Authors: Arushi Rohilla, Shaikh Altamash Khalid, Akshara A, Ayush Singh, Sourav Midya, Vaidehi Dudhrejiya

ABSTRACT

Over 40% of the world’s population suffers from at least one type of neurological disease with neurological conditions accounting for 11.1 million deaths yearly. Treatment methods for neurological diseases have received increasing scholarly and clinical attention. BCI stands for Brain Computer Interfaces- a device that interfaces neural electrical activity with external devices. Conventionally, they serve as assistive devices. A prominent example within this class of technologies is the N1 implant developed by Neuralink, a US-based neurotechnology company founded in 2016, developing high-bandwidth, fully implantable BCIs moving beyond traditional assistive and compensatory devices several implications for behavioural and economic outcomes. Essentially, the chip detects brain neural activity through electrodes and allows individuals to control external devices with their thoughts, not by voice command or eye tracking but through direct neural signals translated into digital commands. Neuralink’s work with brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) are primarily designed for people who have lost the physical ability to move, speak, or sense the world, even though their minds remain active and capable. These physical limitations often block people from fully participating in education, social life, and the workforce, essentially capping their potential contributions to society, often referred to by economists as “human capital.

For individuals with lost motor abilities, BCIs like Neuralink can restore autonomy and functioning and can contribute to inclusion into workforce, gains in skillset, educational development. However, this raises profound questions and concerns: with the development of such invasive technology, are we potentially altering aspects of human identity through technological mediation? Does the widespread commercialisation of such technology, though decades away, raise the possibility of applying this technology to non-neurologically-affected individuals, implying enhanced cognitive abilities beyond typical human capacity? Neuralink’s launch into public media has raised scientific curiosity, controversy and ethical concerns- similar to AI. Tracing back to AI evolution, AI was created to stimulate human intelligence in machines. Today, we find ourselves dependent, and use it as an assistive tool from everyday functioning to large-scale tasks. At its core, technology confronts one of humanity’s oldest philosophical tensions: the relationship between mind and body, human agency, between human limitation and technological possibility. Neuralink allows us to reach potential that is unknown, and to discuss its implications is where this paper stands.

This paper evaluates how Neuralink may alter labour market outcomes among both neurologically impaired and non-impaired populations. Through this paper, we aim to understand the role Neuralink could have post commercialization and wide-spread adoption. Our primary research objective is to understand the impact of Neuralink implantation on human capital formation and economic outcomes, with specific reference to labour force participation and wage premiums across different population groups.