Neuralink, the brain-chip company founded by Elon Musk, has demonstrated its first successful human trial. Noland Arbaugh, a patient paralyzed below the shoulders, was able to move a cursor on a computer screen and play chess online using a brain-implanted device.
Arbaugh, who suffered a severe spinal injury in a diving accident, received the Neuralink chip implant in January. The device, approximately the size of a one-pound coin, was surgically inserted into his skull. It features microscopic wires capable of reading neuron activity and sending signals wirelessly to a computer, thus enabling Arbaugh to control the cursor through thought alone.
During the presentation, Arbaugh shared his experience with the Neuralink device, stating, “The surgery was super easy,” and expressed his renewed sense of independence by playing the video game Civilization VI for eight continuous hours, thanks to the implant.
Despite the success, Arbaugh mentioned encountering some technical issues with the device, indicating that the technology is still in its developmental stage. Neuralink’s ultimate goal is to forge a seamless connection between human brains and computers, aiming to address and possibly cure complex neurological conditions.
The company has previously conducted trials with animals, claiming that pigs and monkeys could interact with computers in basic ways, such as playing the video game Pong, through the Neuralink implant.
Neuralink’s human trials were greenlit by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in May 2023. The technology, which operates by detecting the electrical impulses generated by the brain’s roughly 86 billion neurons, could herald a new era in medical science, offering hope and autonomy to individuals with severe physical limitations.
