The very first Neuralink patient has described the astonishing moment he realized that he could control his computer with just his thoughts.
While having a chip implanted into your brain might sound like a cautionary episode of Black Mirror, it could be the future of technology.
And for some people, it is transforming their lives for the better.
Noland Arbaugh became Neuralink’s first patient to test the neurotech firm’s chip, having it implanted in January 2024.
This was eight years after he was paralysed in a diving accident.
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Recalling his adjustment to his disability, Arbaugh told the BBC that he has ‘no control, no privacy, and it’s hard’, adding: “You have to learn that you have to rely on other people for everything.”
Arbaugh continued: “If everything worked out, then I could help being a participant of Neuralink. If something terrible happened, I knew they would learn from it.”
The 30-year-old hoped that by having the chip implanted, he might be able to regain some independence by being able to control his computer again.
This is achieved using a brain computer interface (BCI), which detects tiny electrical impulses that are created when humans think about moving.
These impulses are then translated into a digital command, enabling the user to do things like move the cursor on the screen.
Neuralink was founded by Elon Musk, who spoke to Arbaugh before and after his surgery.
Speaking about Musk, Arbaugh said: “I think he was just as excited as I was to get started.”
While Arbaugh admitted that he ‘didn’t know what to expect’ when heading in for his surgery, noting that the tech sounded ‘so sci-fi’, he has since expressed his happiness with the results.
After growing up playing video games, Arbaugh noted that this was something he’d ‘had to let go of’ after becoming disabled, however that’s all changed thanks to the chip.
He said: “Now I’m beating my friends at games, which really shouldn’t be possible but it is.”
And while there has been discussion from experts around the issues of privacy when it comes to the new technology, this isn’t something that Arbaugh is worried about.
In fact, he hopes that the innovation will be able to go even further, possibly allowing him to control his wheelchair in the future or even control a humanoid robot.
The technology is so new that there is no telling what the future will have in store for it.