First-ever Neuralink Implant Recipient Reveals Mind-Blowing Integration: Playing Chess Games with Thoughts
Yesterday (20), Elon Musk’s neurotechnology company Neuralink conducted a live stream on Twitter (now X), showcasing the preliminary results of its first human trial of the brain implant device called Telepathy. The video showed a quadriplegic man who was able to play computer games solely through the control of his thoughts using his brain.
Summary: Neuralink completes its first human trial
Neuralink participant: Playing games with “the Force”
Noland calls for participation in the trial
Musk claims paralyzed patients may walk again
Medical Ethics Committee warns of serious safety issues
After receiving authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in May last year to conduct human clinical trials, Neuralink actively recruited human test subjects. In January this year, Musk announced that Neuralink successfully implanted its chip into a human for the first time after years of testing on monkeys.
It is reported that their first product, called “Telepathy,” is composed of extremely thin and flexible circuits implanted in the brain regions responsible for controlling movement. It acts as a recording and transmission device, translating the patient’s thoughts into digital movements.
Now, the identity and background of the first clinical trial participant have been revealed in the live stream after the surgery. He is 29-year-old Noland Arbaugh, who became paralyzed in all four limbs due to a diving accident eight years ago. However, with the Neuralink neural interface device implanted, Noland can now control the movement of a computer mouse with his brain and play simple computer games. He explained, “I look at a specific spot on the screen, and the cursor moves to where I want it, as if I have the power to control it.” He added, “Controlling a computer with my brain feels like using ‘the Force.'”
Noland and Neuralink engineer Bliss Chapman demonstrated in the live stream how Noland can control the mouse movement with his brain to play games like chess and Civilization VI, claiming that this technology has changed his life.
Even though the chip is not perfect and they encountered some issues, it has greatly improved my life. Noland also added, “The surgery went very smoothly, and I was able to leave the hospital the day after the surgery.”
As Neuralink’s brain-computer interface (BCI) development progresses, Noland urges other individuals with neurological disabilities to join the clinical trials, stating, “I don’t want people to think this is the end of the journey; there is still a lot of work to be done.”
A few days ago, the company expressed its intention to recruit personnel through an announcement, stating that developing BCI is a multidisciplinary challenge.
As a co-founder of Neuralink, Musk remains optimistic, stating, “In the long term, it may be possible to bypass the injured parts of the spine by transmitting signals from the brain’s motor cortex, allowing people to walk again and use their arms normally.”
Another Neuralink employee emphasized, “This is a significant step towards the future, and blindness and paralysis will be effectively cured first.”
However, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), a medical ethics advocacy organization, expressed concerns about Neuralink’s human trials, stating that the invasive, unnecessary, and hasty experiments on animals such as monkeys have raised serious concerns about the safety of their devices. They also emphasized that “the device’s battery and the fine wires of the implant may potentially move to other areas of the brain, and there is no explanation of how the device can be removed without damaging brain tissue.”
Elon Musk
Neuralink
Telepathy
Brain-computer interface
Clinical
Musk
