Founded by Elon Musk, Neuralink has launched a live broadcast of the first patient who has had a chip implanted in his brain, using his mind to play chess online.
Nolander Arbough, a 29-year-old who was paralyzed under his shoulders after a diving accident, played chess on his laptop and moved the cursor using a Neuralink device. The purpose of the chip is to enable people to control the computer cursor or keyboard using only their thoughts.
Arbough received a chip implant from the company in January and succeeded in controlling the computer cursor with his thoughts, as he reported in an interview last month.
In a video presented on Musk’s subsidiary platform, X, Arbough announced the chip implantation: “The procedure was very easy, and I left the hospital the next day. I didn’t feel any weakness in thinking.”
Arbough stated that he had given up playing Civilization VI, but thanks to Neuralink, he was able to play again continuously for 8 hours.
Arbough expressed his experience with modern technology as not being perfect and facing some difficulties.
“I don’t want people to think this is the end of the journey, there is still a lot of work to be done, but it has already changed my life,” he continued.
Kip Ludwig, a former director of the Neural Engineering program at the National Institutes of Health, said that what Neuralink has provided is not revolutionary.
In the early days after the chip implantation, there is still much to learn from both Neuralink and the patient to increase the amount of information that can be accessed for control. He pointed out that nevertheless, Ludwig said it is a positive development for the patient who has succeeded in interacting with the computer in a way they could not before the implant. He added that it is definitely a good starting point.
Elon Musk expressed his optimism in a comment on the video, mentioning that in the long run, it may be possible to convert brain movement signals to enable people to walk and use their arms naturally as they pass through the injured spinal cord.
