A 29-year-old man who suffered a diving accident eight years ago, Noland Arbaugh, has become the first human to undergo surgical implantation of a Neuralink computer chip in his brain.
In a remarkable demonstration, he showcased his ability to control a computer cursor on a screen and effortlessly play online chess using only his thoughts.
Additionally, he demonstrated his capability to toggle a music stream on and off, all thanks to the revolutionary brain-computer interface technology developed by Neuralink.
Noland joined a live stream alongside a Neuralink engineer on X, providing the public with an insightful glimpse into the functioning of this groundbreaking technology.
“It’s all being done with my brain. If y’all can see the cursor moving around the screen, that’s all me, y’all,” he said while the live stream showed his cursor moving across an online chess game. “It’s pretty cool, huh?”
The microchip is equipped with 1,000 electrodes designed to collect information on the brain’s neural patterns and intentions for movement, which is then transmitted to a Neuralink computer for analysis to translate thoughts into physical actions.
“It was like using the Force on the cursor and I could get it to move wherever I wanted. Just stare somewhere on the screen and it would move where I wanted it to, which was such a wild experience the first time it happened,” he said, referencing “Star Wars.”
The individual with quadriplegia was the inaugural human participant in the trial of the chip created by the company owned by Elon Musk.
A robotic surgeon successfully inserted the implant into his brain in late January. Describing the procedure as “extremely simple,” he was discharged from the hospital the following day without experiencing any cognitive deficits.
“It’s crazy, it really is. It’s so cool. I’m so friggin’ lucky to be a part of this,” he said. “Every day it seems like we’re learning new stuff and I just can’t describe how cool it is to be able to do this.”
Before receiving the chip, Arbaugh would need another person’s help to play online chess and video games like “Civilization VI.”
“Now I can literally just lie in bed and play to my heart’s content,” he said — at least until the battery of his rechargeable chip dies.
The brief, 9-minute video stream posted on Neuralink’s X account is the closest look the human tech startup has shared with the public. The company, founded in 2016, has mostly kept information about its technology and human trials under wraps — prompting calls for greater transparency.
