CNBC: “Neuralink shows video of patient chess player involving brain implant”

Noland Arbaugh, 29, is the first human patient to ever get implanted with Neuralink’s device. The company is developing a brain-computer interface, or a BCI, that aims to help patients with severe paralysis control external technologies using only neural signals. Neuralink’s first product is called Telepathy, Musk said in a post on his social media site X in January.

In the video Wednesday, which was streamed on X, Arbaugh said he became a quadriplegic after suffering a diving accident around eight years ago. He said the surgery to get Neuralink’s implant, which requires patients to remove a portion of their skull to insert electrodes into the brain tissue, was super easy. He was released from the hospital the next day, he said.

It’s not perfect, I would say that we have run into some issues, Arbaugh said. I don’t want people to think that this is the end of the journey, there’s still a lot of work to be done, but it has already changed my life.

Ashley Capoot

This news caught my attention mainly because one of the first things Noland did on his brand new brain-computer interface was to play Civilization VI, a game I also play regularly and for long stretches of time. I didn’t quite expect Neuralink to stick to their plans and get to the stage of human trials, but it’s good that at least one person can enjoy more freedom and connection to the outside world thanks to their efforts.

Noland Arbaugh, a 29-year-old quadriplegic who has a Neuralink brain-chip, demonstrates during a livestream how he is able to control his laptop cursor with his mind to play chess

Questions on the long-term viability of their project linger though. Arbaugh is barely 30 – how long does Neuralink plan to support his implant? Will he get upgrades as the tech advances, or is he stuck with the alpha version? The current implant is merely at demo stage, one would assume the company will eventually launch a commercial device, possibly with extra support packages for medical or software issues. If Arbaugh can’t afford the final price, will he be stuck with a dead or barely functioning implant, forced to return to his state prior to this intervention?

Fortunately, this research area seems active, with several other reports from 2023 of similar successful surgeries, and I am optimistic that we will see good progress over the next years, regardless of Elon Musk’s involvement.