Battle Erupts Over Alleged Grisly Photos of Brain-Hacked Neuralink Monkeys

Noor Al-Sibai -  Futurism

A California university is refusing to release a cache of grisly photos of monkeys reportedly injured during experiments testing Elon Musk's Neuralink brain implant technology, in spite of a lawsuit aiming to force the school's hand.


UC Davis is refusing to release a cache of grisly photos of the monkeys injured during experiments testing Elon Musk's Neuralink brain implant technology.

In a press release, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) advocacy group said that it had learned that the University of California, Davis is in possession of 371 photos of the experimented-upon monkeys that were subjected to Neuralink tests, which took place at the school's veterinary lab facilities.

Earlier this year, Neuralink admitted that a fifth of the 23 rhesus macaques monkeys it used to test its brain-hacking implants had been euthanized after developing infections and malfunctions. Bolstering PCRM's credibility, that admission came in the wake of its a complaint it filed against Neuralink.

Now, PCRM says it learned that UC Davis is in possession of the hundreds of photos depicting, among other things, "necropsies of animals killed" in the experiments after filing a lawsuit against the school in February over its shielding of the photos, which the university argues are "proprietary."

"UC Davis thinks the public is too stupid to know what they’re looking at," Physicians Committee research director Ryan Merkley said in the press release. "But it’s clear the university is simply trying to hide from taxpayers the fact that it partnered with Elon Musk to conduct experiments in which animals suffered and died."

The nonprofit said in the release that it had learned through its lawsuit that Neuralink paid UC Davis $1.4 million to use its facilities between 2017 and 2020.

As the release notes, the school has already released hundreds of pages of documents which "showed monkeys suffering from chronic infections, seizures, paralysis, and painful side effects following [the] experiments."

In February, UC Davis and Neuralink both responded to the lawsuit by issuing statements saying that they had complied with established research protocols and regulations. UC Davis directed Futurism to that February statement, and added that the school has "fully complied with the state law in responding to PCRM’s public records request." Futurism has also reached out to Neuralink for comment regarding the lawsuit and its plans to prevent such harm from coming to animal research subjects in the future.

For now, we don't know how gruesome the photos of the experimented-upon macaques may be — and until the school or Neuralink is forced to give them up, we'll have to contend with our imaginations.

More Neuralink nastiness: Experts Say Elon Musk Messed Up by Having Secret Children With His Employee

Rights Group Claims UC Davis Won't Release Photos Depicting Tortured Neuralink Monkeys

Mack DeGeurin - 

An animal rights group wants the University of California Davis to release nearly 400 photos of test monkeys they claim were tortured and abused during testing for Elon Musk’s Neuralink brain computer interface company.


This picture taken on May 23, 2020 shows a laboratory monkey sitting in its cage in the breeding centre for cynomolgus macaques (longtail macaques) at the National Primate Research Center of Thailand at Chulalongkorn University in Saraburi.© Photo: Mladen Antonov (Getty Images)

In a press release, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine said its ongoing lawsuit surfaced 371 photos related to the monkey experiments, with 185 of them allegedly related to autopsies of monkeys that died during the procedures. The other 186 photos are reportedly related to experiments conducted on the monkeys. Previous reports claim 15 monkeys died at one UC Davis test facility between 2017 and 2020.

For those catching up, The Physicians Committee filed a legal complaint with The U.S. Department of Agriculture earlier this year which provided horrifying accounts of Neuralink monkeys allegedly having their skulls pried open to insert electrodes for Neuralink brain devices. Some of the monkeys equipped with the devices allegedly experienced extreme vomiting and exhaustion while others, overcome by stress, allegedly mutilated themselves, according to a New York Post report. Others reportedly developed skin infections after having their skulls drilled open.

Though the rights groups claims UC Davis revealed the images’ existence in a recent legal filing, they said the university’s attorney wants to keep them under wraps, arguing their content could be misunderstood by the public. An attorney for the Physicians Committee argued the photos are actually public records since the university receives public funding and relies on public employees to conduct experiments.

“These photos are public records created with public funds, and the public deserves access to the research they paid for,” Physicians Committee Associate General Counsel Deborah Dubow said.

UC David did not immediately respond to Gizmodo’s request for comment about these claims, though it previously released a statement defending its reported $1.4 million partnership with Neuralink. The two ceased working together in 2020.



Monkey MindPong

“Regarding the lawsuit by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, we fully complied with the California Public Records Act in responding to their request,” UC Davis said in February. “Indeed, additional materials have been supplied to PCRM since the conclusion of the research agreement with Neuralink.”

Neuralink also vigorously defended itself earlier this year, releasing a lengthy statement saying it’s committed to working with animals, “in the most humane and ethical way possible.” In that same statement, Neuralink tried to throw water on the Physicians Committee complaint, claiming they are an absolutist organization opposed to any types of animal testing. To that end, the Physicians Committee has reportedly advocated for veganism and alternatives to animal testing and has received some funding from PETA, according to The Guardian.

And while Neuralink did not respond to Gizmodo’s request for comment, its previous statement did note it left UC Davis in 2020 partly to improve overall facility standards.

“While the facilities and care at UC Davis did and continue to meet federally mandated standards, we absolutely wanted to improve upon these standards as we transitioned animals to our in-house facilities,” the company said.

In addition to the alleged photos, the Physicians Committee says UC Davis legal documents revealed over 600 pages depicting test monkeys suffering seizures, chronic infections, and side effects from the Neuralink device. They cite documents claiming experimenters reportedly used an unapproved adhesive called BioGlue to fill the holes in the monkey’s brain following surgery. Some of that glue, according to the Physicians’ Committee, allegedly seeped into the monkey’s brains.

“UC Davis thinks the public is too stupid to know what they’re looking at,” Physicians Committee Director of Research Advocacy Ryan Merkley, said. “But it’s clear the university is simply trying to hide from taxpayers the fact that it partnered with Elon Musk to conduct experiments in which animals suffered and died.”