Neuralink Corp., led by Elon Musk, live-streamed an update featuring its inaugural brain implant recipient on Wednesday. The event showcased a quadriplegic individual who demonstrated the ability to play video games and engage in online chess solely through mind control.
Neuralink, a brain technology startup founded by Musk, has developed an implant enabling patients to control computers using their thoughts. Musk has emphasized that the company’s initial focus will be on collaborating with individuals facing severe physical limitations such as cervical spinal cord impairment or quadriplegia.
During the livestream on Wednesday, hosted on Musk’s social platform X, the patient, Noland Arbaugh, showcased his ability to use his computer to play chess and the game Civilization VI. Reflecting on this experience, Arbaugh remarked, “I had given up on playing that game.”
Arbaugh expressed, “It has already changed my life. The surgery was super easy.”
Arbaugh, aged 29, recounted sustaining a spinal cord injury in a “freak diving accident” eight years prior. He disclosed being discharged from the hospital merely a day following the Neuralink procedure in January, which proceeded smoothly. Arbaugh noted there was “still work to be done” to refine the technology.
While Neuralink isn’t the sole entity advancing brain-computer interface devices, Arbaugh’s experience highlights its potential. Other initiatives like the BrainGate consortium have showcased cursor control via thoughts, but Neuralink’s device, with its abundance of electrodes and wireless functionality, suggests broader future applications.
In a post on Musk’s platform X, he hinted at the possibility of the device restoring vision, indicating advancements beyond telepathy for paralyzed patients.
Kip Allan Ludwig, co-director of the Wisconsin Institute for Translational Neuroengineering, commented, “I’m happy for the individual that he’s been able to interface with a computer in a way he wasn’t able to before the implant.” While not a groundbreaking feat compared to prior demonstrations, Ludwig sees it as a promising starting point.
Arbaugh’s accident, according to a Facebook page last updated in 2017, occurred at a children’s camp in June 2016. In 2017, he successfully crowdfunded $10,000 through a GoFundMe campaign to purchase a custom-built van to enhance accessibility.
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