Elon Musk Shares Video Of Neuralink’s First Brain Implant User Playing Chess Through His Brain

Earlier today, Elon Musk’s Neuralink streamed a video of the first patient who received the chip implant in his brain. Noland Arbaugh, a 29-year-old, was left paralyzed below his shoulders from an accident that took place about eight years ago. He got selected through the Neuralink program and received the brain implant on Sunday, January 28, 2024. Soon after, Musk took to this official X (formerly known as Twitter) handle to confirm that Arbaugh showed promising signs of recovery. The co-founder also mentioned that the chip could detect neuron spikes, implying that it could monitor brain activity.

First Neuralink Patient Recovered Well, Can Control A Computer Through His Brain

In the streamed video, Arbaugh is seen playing chess on a MacBook screen without using the trackpad or the keyboard. Instead, the video showcases how Neuralink’s first patient can use his brain to control the cursor on the computer’s screen, allowing him to play games and media playback. In theory, Arbaugh should also be able to perform other tasks, such as browsing through the internet, perhaps with the help of an on-screen keyboard (since the accessibility tool works on inputs via a cursor). The patient also mentioned that the technology isn’t perfect yet, and there is still a lot of work to do to learn and refine the overall experience.

Here’s How The Brain Implant Works And How Arbaugh Got Used To It

Arbaugh explains how the Neuralink brain implant works. Initially, he attempted to move his right hand in several directions, and from there, he came into a habit of imagining or visualizing the cursor movement on the screen. Behind the scenes, the Neuralink chip, lined up with over a thousand tiny electrodes, detects the electrical signals produced by the brain, processes them, and transmits the data wirelessly to a nearby Bluetooth device. Then, the app on this device interprets the data and translates it into specific commands based on the platform it is working on.

In simpler words, the brain implant helps the patient move a cursor on the screen and perform related actions (such as selecting) simply by thinking about it. Arbaugh mentions that now he just stares somewhere on the screen, and the cursor moves there. The first time he got complete control over the technology, Arbaugh stayed up until 6 AM playing Civilization 6. Earlier, he had to get help from his parents or other family members to perform tasks like this, but Neuralink has made it possible to perform them independently.

Neuralink’s Next Product Is Going To be Blindsight

Sharing this video through his X account, Musk calls it “Telepathy,” which refers to communication between people’s minds that doesn’t use any written, verbal, or other forms of communication. In the video, although jokingly, the Neuralink engineer calls Arbaugh a telekinetic. Further, responding to an X user’s post, Musk also reveals that Blindsight is the next Neuralink product after telepathy. For those catching up, Blindsight will help restore blind people’s vision as if they never lost their sight.

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