In September 2023, Neuralink, the brain-computer interface company co-founded by Elon Musk, launched a call for clinical trials that would finally put this much-anticipated technology to the test. Noland Arbaugh, a 29-year-old who became a complete quadriplegic following a freak diving accident, jumped on the opportunity. Although the surgery would involve implanting a device in his brain, Arbaugh felt he had nothing left to lose. Fortunately, this has turned out to be an astonishing success story.

A new way to play

The quality of life of Arbaugh has skyrocketed. Although the patient still can’t feel anything below his shoulders, the Neuralink implant allows him to control a computer with remarkable precision by thought alone. Arbaugh can message friends, browse the web, and even play chess all by himself. He even stayed up all night and into the morning playing one of his favorite video games, the turn-based strategy game Civilization VI.

On March 20th, Neuralink scientist Bliss Chapman posted a nine-minute live stream with Arbaugh. The two talked about the patient’s recovery process while Arbaugh was playing online chess using a digital cursor controlled by thought alone. “I think you’re my only telekinetic friend that I have,” Chapman jokingly said.

“I love playing chess and this is one of the things that y’all have enabled me to do. . . I had to use a mouth stick and stuff all these years, but now it’s all being done with my brain . . . It’s all brain power,” said Arbaugh while he turned off the music playing on the computer using the Neuralink interface.

After only a few months of practice with Neuralink, Arbaugh is remarkably proficient. He can move and click his cursor very responsively with just as much ease as if he were using his hand and fingers. This freedom has allowed him to play the game Sid Meier’s Civilization 6 as long as he wants — something that he couldn’t do on his own before. Previously, he would give a friend instructions on which plays to make on his behalf. He also likes to play Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, a fast-paced racing game where you need to react fast.

“I had basically given up on playing that game,” Arbaugh said, referring to the game Civilization VI, “you all (Neuralink) gave me the ability to do that again and I played for [around] 8 hours that day.”

Who does Neuralink work?

At its core, Neuralink’s technology seeks to bridge the human brain with computers. The process involves a surgical procedure where a collection of ultra-thin electrode-carrying threads, each much finer than a human hair, are inserted into key areas of the brain. These threads record neural activity.

Inserting these threads requires precision even beyond the precision of a surgeon’s hands. Hence, Neuralink developed a robotic arm specifically for this task. This robotic arm delicately places the threads into target areas of the brain, minimizing the risk of damage and maximizing the potential for accurate neuron interaction.

Once the threads are in place, they transmit electrical signals they pick up from neurons to a processing unit called the Link. The Link is a small, implantable device that sits outside of the brain but within the skull. It analyses and decodes these signals, translating neural activity into commands that computers can understand. This translation is the key to Neuralink’s functionality, allowing for potential control over computers or other devices merely through thought.

“We started out trying out a few different things. We went from differentiating imagined movements versus attempted movements. Starting out, I would attempt to move my right hand in different directions. From there, I think it just became intuitive to me to just imagine the cursor moving,” said Arbaugh.

“It was basically like using the force on the cursor! It would move where I wanted it to, which was such a wild experience. It’s crazy, it really is. It’s so cool!”

Besides video games, Neuralink has helped Arbaugh regain his autonomy in other areas of life. He’s learning French and Japanese online. There is no cognitive impairment or any side effects that we know of as a result of his implant.

A New Dawn for Assistive Technologies

In a post on X, Elon Musk noted that this is just the beginning. His next goal is to have Neuralink “shunt” neural signals from the motor cortex, responsible for directing the body’s movements, to the disabled body part. By bypassing the damaged spinal cord, paralyzed patients could regain their lost mobility. He also says that a system called “Blindsight” is already restoring sight to monkeys using cameras instead of eyes.

Musk is even more ambitious with this project. The ultimate aim, he claims, is to transcend medical applications and move to more futuristic prospects, like seamless merging of human consciousness with artificial intelligence or enhancing cognitive abilities.

However, these lofty goals and claims should be taken with a grain of salt. Speaking to Reuters, Kip Ludwig, former program director for neural engineering at the U.S. National Institutes of Health, said Neuralink’s demonstration is no “breakthrough”. Indeed, we’ve reported on brain-computer interfaces on ZME Science for many years, from paralyzed patients who can use their thoughts to type on their iPhones, fire weapons, or even ‘telepathically’ exchange information.

“It is still in the very early days post-implantation, and there is a lot of learning on both the Neuralink side and the subject’s side to maximize the amount of information for control that can be achieved,” Ludwig added.

Despite the promising outcomes of Neuralink’s first human trial, the company has faced scrutiny over its treatment of animals in pre-human trials and other ethical concerns. Reports have highlighted the deaths of over 1,500 animals — sheep, pigs, and monkeys — in Neuralink’s experiments, raising questions about the rush in surgical procedures and the ethical implications of such advancements.

For now, however, it seems the system promises to give others like Arbaugh a chance to move their cursor and enjoy their computers again.