20% of respondents would consider having a chip implanted in their brain

Earlier this year, the startup Neuralink, founded by billionaire Elon Musk, claimed to have successfully implanted one of its wireless “brain-reading” devices into a person’s body. The company’s human trial, following controversial implant procedures involving monkeys, aims to control the intention to move and, eventually, allow people to perform certain actions using only their thoughts.

But imagine: if a computer chip technology reached the commercial stage, would you consider having a chip implanted in your brain?

According to data from a recent YouGov survey, one in five respondents (20%) across 17 international markets would consider it.

Men are significantly more likely than women (25% vs. 15%) to consider having a computer chip implanted in their brain, according to YouGov demographic data.

Brain chip implant technology, in its potential commercial phase, would find the least adoption in the United States, Neuralink’s home country (11%), and in Great Britain (11%).

Indians are the first to consider having a computer chip implanted in their brain (38%), followed by Indonesians (35%) and the United Arab Emirates (35%). In Europe, Italians (20%) and Poles (20%) are the first to consider this procedure.

The British (79%) represent the largest proportion of respondents in all markets surveyed who would not consider having a brain chip implanted. Germans (77%), Americans (76%), Canadians (75%) and Spaniards (75%) follow the British. In Asia, Hong Kongers (65%) and Singaporeans (65%) are the most likely to not consider having a brain chip implanted.

Finally, the Danes (16%) represent the largest proportion of those who are unsure whether or not to undergo a brain chip implantation procedure.

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Methodology: YouGov Surveys: With serviceprovide rapid survey results from
nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. Data are based on surveys of adults aged 18 and older in 17 markets with varying sample sizes between 500 and2002 for each market. All surveys were conducted online in February 2024. Data for each market uses a nationally representative database sample except Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples.LearnLearn more about YouGov surveys: with service.

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