Robots will surpass best human surgeons within 5 years, Says Elon Musk

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk stated on Monday that robots could potentially outshine the best human surgeons in five years, a tremendous breakthrough in medical technology.

Musk, whose brain-computer interface company Neuralink relies on robotics to insert brain-computer electrodes, characterized the surgeries as impossible to perform with human precision and speed. "Robots will surpass good human surgeons in two years and best human surgeons in five years," he said in a post on social media platform X. He also emphasized that Neuralink was compelled to use robots for such delicate work since the demands were so specific both in terms of speed and precision.

This article came after an influencer article by Mario Nawfal, who wrote about a recent achievement in medical robotics by US-based medical equipment firm Medtronic. Nawfal wrote that Medtronic had successfully deployed its Hugo robotic system in 137 real-world surgeries, such as prostate, kidney, and bladder surgeries. The robotic surgeries had results that were "better than doctors expected," and the success rate was more than 98%, Nawfal said. Moreover, the complication rates were very low, with prostate surgeries at 3.7%, kidney surgeries at 1.9%, and bladder surgeries at 17.9%. Two of the procedures had to be reverted to the previous technique, one due to a failure of the robot, and one due to a very challenging case patient.

Meanwhile, Neuralink presses on with clinical trials of its brain-computer interface technology, aimed at developing brain-controlled devices for paralyzed individuals or individuals suffering from neurodegenerative disease.

Although none of the devices are presently on the market, three individuals have been successfully implanted with Neuralink. Having a rosy outlook for the future, Musk in 2024 stated, "If things go well, there will be hundreds of folks with Neuralinks in a few years, potentially tens of thousands in five, millions in a decade."