Noland Arbaugh, the first person to receive a brain implant from Neuralink, demonstrated the technology's potential by playing video games and chess using only his thoughts. The nine-minute video, the first by Elon Musk's company to stream live on X, shows Arbaugh playing a video game.
Arbaugh, a 29-year-old paralyzed man who calls himself a fan of X-Men character Charles Xavier, credits Neuralink technology with helping him rediscover his passion for gaming. “The surgery was very easy,” Arbaugh said in a video distributed on Musk's social media platform X. “I literally left the hospital a day later. I have no cognitive impairment.”
Neuralink patients demonstrated the device's capabilities by moving a cursor around a laptop screen, pausing an on-screen music player, and playing online chess. He also said the implant has allowed him to enjoy marathon gaming sessions, including eight hours of playing Civilization VI, which was not possible due to his paralysis.
“I had basically given up on playing that game,” Arbaugh said, referring to Civilization VI. [Neuralink] I was able to do it again and was able to play for eight hours straight. ”
To control a computer, Arbaugh learned how to control a cursor intuitively by simply imagining its movement. He initially focused on distinguishing between attempted and imagined movements of the left and right hands. Ultimately, he likened the experience to the “manipulation of force” in the Star Wars series.
Neuralink received FDA approval in fall 2023 and began recruiting patients for its first human clinical trial. However, the company has provided few details about the scope and nature of the trial, and the study has not yet been made public.
Arbaugh, the first-ever Neuralink patient, remains optimistic about the future of the technology, but admits there is still much work to be done. “It's not perfect. I would say we ran into some issues,” Arbaugh said. “I don't want you to think this is the end of the journey and there's still a lot of work to do, but my life has already changed.”
Arbaugh, a 29-year-old paralyzed man who calls himself a fan of X-Men character Charles Xavier, credits Neuralink technology with helping him rediscover his passion for gaming. “The surgery was very easy,” Arbaugh said in a video distributed on Musk's social media platform X. “I literally left the hospital a day later. I have no cognitive impairment.”
Neuralink patients demonstrated the device's capabilities by moving a cursor around a laptop screen, pausing an on-screen music player, and playing online chess. He also said the implant has allowed him to enjoy marathon gaming sessions, including eight hours of playing Civilization VI, which was not possible due to his paralysis.
“I had basically given up on playing that game,” Arbaugh said, referring to Civilization VI. [Neuralink] I was able to do it again and was able to play for eight hours straight. ”
To control a computer, Arbaugh learned how to control a cursor intuitively by simply imagining its movement. He initially focused on distinguishing between attempted and imagined movements of the left and right hands. Ultimately, he likened the experience to the “manipulation of force” in the Star Wars series.
Neuralink received FDA approval in fall 2023 and began recruiting patients for its first human clinical trial. However, the company has provided few details about the scope and nature of the trial, and the study has not yet been made public.
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