Elon Musk's Neuralink search for a second individual to try its brain implant.
Five months ago, Neuralink put a brain chip into its first human test subject, a 30-year-old named Noland Arbaugh. Then, last week, they confessed that the chords attaching the chip to Arbaugh's brain had drawn back, creating performance complications. Nevertheless, Arbaugh maintains that the implant, which enables him to guide a computer mouse with his mind, has significantly enriched his life. Arbaugh is a quadriplegic since 2016 because of a diving mishap.
Arbaugh expressed his gratitude for being part of something he believes will significantly advance paraplegic individuals during an interview on Good Morning America. "I previously had no reason to get up in the morning, but this has altered that for me," he said. "I was just delighted to be a part of something that I believe will be so groundbreaking in helping individuals with paralysis."
Neuralink now encourages more people like Arbaugh to partake in their experiments. They are focusing on quadriplegics or people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) who have restricted access to their hands due to spinal cord injuries.
Neuralink desires to test the functionality and safety of its brain chip, which is why it's calling this phase of experimentation the PRIME Study (Precise Robotically Implanted Brain-Computer Interface). They plan to put brain chips in the portion of the brain that regulates movement intention. After that, the chip sends brain signals to an app. The initial endeavor is to help individuals operate a computer cursor or type using their thoughts only.
After one month, Musk stated Arbaugh could manage a computer mouse using his mind. Later, they shared a video of Arbaugh employing only his brain to play a game of chess on a computer.
Even though Arbaugh encountered an unexpected issue that decreased its data handling capabilities, he told Good Morning America that he cried afterward. "It was incredibly challenging to lose the ability to do all of the amazing things I was previously capable of," Arbaugh said.
Nonetheless, Neuralink believes it has found resolutions and successfully recovered Arbaugh's performance.
"We initiate clinical trials and early feasibility trials to discover these types of problems as early as possible before they reach the market," DJ Seo, Neuralink's co-founder, stated to Good Morning America. "Once we discovered the issues, we inventively found ways for Noland to reclaim his performance, which we have successfully achieved."
Neuralink's brain implants likely won't be for sale to the public anytime soon. Firstly, they must earn broader regulatory approval.
–CNN's Jordan Valinsky contributed to this report.
Read also:
- Telefónica targets market launch for hologram telephony
- vzbv: Internet companies continue to cheat despite ban
- Telefónica targets market launch for hologram telephony in 2026
- AI and climate in schools: how to keep lessons up to date
During the interview, Arbaugh expressed his excitement about the potential of Neuralink's technology in boosting business opportunities for tech companies catering to the needs of individuals with disabilities. The successful integration of Neuralink's brain chip could revolutionize the tech industry, creating a new market for products and services.
Source: edition.cnn.com
