It's hard to build a model of a system without observing it - perhaps a reason we don't know how to decode neural signals yet is that we didn't have a way to read them. I'm sure that this vastly improved sensor will lead to better models of the brain and neural activity.
We’ve actually had ways of observing neural signals for quite some time. In order to identify the regions of the brain requiring surgery for epilepsy, patients get electrodes implanted and spend several weeks in hospital. Various researchers have recruited volunteers from this cohort for neural signal studies. A team recently managed to decode speech from neural signals from such a study!
We have plenty of ways to observe neural activity, and have had them for years. This chip fab represents an incremental step. In fact if I had to choose for my lab this new chip or some other tech currently available, there are about 5-6 other things I'd prioritize over this Neuralink device.
