Yesterday, a video uploaded by Neuralink shows how a paralyzed man is using a computer with only his mind. This video has any people scared, excited, and just confused.
What is Neuralink?
Neuralink is a brain-computer company created by Elon Musk. The video uploaded by this company on the social media platform X or formerly known as twitter, shows a man moving the computers mouse and playing a game of chess by only using his mind. This is the first person to ever try this brain implant. Elon Musk founded this back in 2016 and he implied it would be a demonstration of telepathy. This is supposed to connect the human brain to a computer. The implant is called “Link” and it is the size of a small coin. This chip is the surgically embedded onto the patient’s skull.
The way this works is sort of the same as electrophysiology. The electrical signals found in the human nervous system, communicate with one another across gaps between synapses. This basically means that the human brain captures data whenever humans do an action but also when humans think about doing an action. That does not mean that what this does is mind reading. All this implant does is it measures the brain activity and interprets that into an action. The same way that doctor’s can tell someone’s stress or relaxation level with a blood pressure procedure.
Why This Changed This Person’s Life
The patient that made the decision to be the first person to try this implant is 29 year old Noland Arbaugh. Arbaugh said eight years ago, he was in a freak accident which made him paralyzed from the shoulders down. He has stated that this device has made him get back into gaming. Before his accident, he would love to play video games. However, after he became paralyzed, with no feeling in his arms, there was no possible way for him to continue playing as well as doing other stuff he would usually do. Thankfully, because of Neuralink, he was not only able to play chess, he was able to play the game civilization IV for eight hours straight.
The FDA just recently gave Neuralink permission to do clinical human test trials for the implant. Shortly after this, the company announced that they were looking for volunteers to be test subjects on a six year long trial. Arbaugh was one of those people and he cannot be happier. Because of this, he feels extremely happy to be able to once again use a computer like he used to before.
Controversy of The Future
People have criticized the methods used to conduct the trials. There is not enough transparency when it comes to the amount of people in which the trials will be made. There is also no information as to what the outcome will be from these trials. Before Neuralink was able to test on humans, they were testing this on monkey which ended up being a very controversial time. This was because there were reports of some animals getting euthanized soon after they received the implant due to complications. The complications were brain bleeds, bloody diarrhea, partial paralysis, and cerebral edema.
Neuralink at the moment is being considered to be assistive technology. However, there are plans for this to be used in perfectly healthy people later on. There is still a long way before that can we achieved. Arbaugh admitted that the team has indeed has ran into some issues, but nonetheless he is happy he got the implant. It has changed his life.
Written by Erika Cano
Sources:
PC Magazine: First Human to Receive Neuralink Implant Says It Lets Him Play Civilization VI
The Verge: Neuralink video shows patient using brain implant to play chess on laptop
Built In: What Is Neuralink? What We Know So Far.
Top and Featured Image Courtesy of Steve Jurvetson Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Thomas Hawk Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
