The tech giant was reportedly exposed to Anglican Christianity growing up in South Africa and has expressed appreciation for Christian teachings and openness to the idea of a creator or higher order in recent years, but he has generally described himself more as a scientific skeptic or agnostic than a traditionally religious person.
Noting that he once wore satanic armor as a Halloween costume, The Christian Post reports that Musk's company is now on the cusp of introducing what Musk calls "Jesus-level sort of technologies."
During a virtual appearance on May 18, Musk described Neuralink's brain-computer interface projects and highlighted the company's goals to restore sight and mobility to patients with severe disabilities.
"We expect to do our first implant for what we call 'Blindsight,' where even if somebody has lost both eyes or lost the optic nerve or perhaps has never been able to see, even if they were blind at birth, it will give them initially limited vision, but I think, over time, very precise vision, perhaps superhuman vision," he said.
A tiny implanted device would be placed in the part of the brain that processes vision. Cameras would be mounted on glasses or another external device to capture images from the environment. Software would convert those images into electrical signals, and the implant would stimulate neurons in the visual cortex in patterns the brain could interpret as visual information.
"Restoring control of tetraplegics and restoring sight are pretty big deals," Musk added. "You might call them Jesus-level technologies, miracles of science."
Dr. Richard Land of Southern Evangelical Seminary does not think Musk is treating Jesus with the reverence He deserves. Still, he is willing to give the billionaire a pass, to a point.
"I don't think that Elon Musk means it blasphemously because he's not a particularly religious man," Dr. Land tells AFN. "But for those of us who are religious, it does sound vaguely blasphemous."
Some Christians support Blindsight as a medical tool, but others worry brain implants could cross ethical lines by altering human identity, encouraging transhumanism, or giving technology too much influence over the human mind.
Land recognizes Musk is on the verge of doing things that are not miraculous but will blow our minds. His concern is not so much what they are called, but the prospect that technology could ultimately cost people their "human free will."
