Elon Musk’s first brain chip patient plays online chess with his mind

New footage of Elon Musk’s Neuralink brain implant in action live-streamed on Wednesday, and it featured a quadriplegic guy using just his mind to play video games. Musk’s Neuralink clip, which streamed live to X on March 20, features 29-year-old quadriplegic patient Noland Arbaugh, who had the Neuralink device implanted. Arbaugh uses his mind to operate a computer’s cursor while playing games like Civilization VI and Chess.

Arbaugh remarked, “It’s like using the force on a cursor; I could stare anywhere on the screen and it would move where I wanted it to.”

“I can’t even begin to describe how cool it is that I get to do this.”

Arbaugh’s Journey with Neuralink’s Brain Implant

During the initial instance when you guys granted me complete authority, I played a game of Civilization VI till six in the morning, as stated by Arbaugh. Eight years prior, during a “freak diving accident,” Arbaugh sustained catastrophic spinal cord damage that rendered him fully paralyzed below the shoulders.

After implanting the device on Sunday, January 28, Arbaugh claimed that the surgery proceeded without a hitch, and he discharged himself from the hospital the same day.

Arbaugh remarked, “It has already changed my life.” “The surgery went well.”

Arbaugh urged more persons with neurological conditions to come forward and participate in human trials, even though he acknowledged that some aspects of the technology still needed improvement.

He said, “I want people to understand that there is still a lot of work to done and that this is the end of the journey.” “I would advise anyone considering applying for the human trials or looking for other ways to assist with this to please do your share.”

According to Musk, in a post published on January 30 on X, Neuralink designed its brain implant to help people who have crippling injuries or paralysis interact with a phone or computer simply by thinking. He also mentioned that Neuralink’s first product is named Telepathy.

“Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a speed typist or auctioneer. That is the goal.”

Innovative Brain-Computer Interface Technology

According to a company blog post dated September 19, Neuralink first accepted applications for human clinical trials in September 2023. This came about after the company granted approval by the US Food and Drug Administration in May 2023 for its Precise Robotically Implanted Brain-Computer Interface (PRIME) study.

The Neuralink device, also known as a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI), uses a small aperture in the patient’s skull to implant the chip. This process is carried out by a surgical robot.

The gadget implants “ultra-fine and flexible threads” in the part of the brain that regulates the intention behind movement. Once implanted, the gadget becomes “cosmetically invisible” and functions as a wireless data transmission and recording tool, sending information to an app that translates the patient’s mental movements into digital movements on a device.