The first human to have a Neuralink brain chip implant is now able to move a computer cursor and play chess and other video games on a computer using his brain, the company said.
Elon Musk’s Neuralink streamed a live video on X showing Noland Arbaugh, a 29-year-old quadriplegic, explaining how his life has changed since having the chip implanted in January.
“It’s all being done with my brain. You see the cursor moving around the screen? That’s all me,” he said. “I love playing chess, this is one of the things you all have enabled me to do, something that I wasn’t able to do much the last few years, especially not like this. I had to use a mouth stick before.”
During the video, Mr Arbaugh explained he was paralysed about eight years ago in a diving accident. “I dislocated my C4 and C5,” he said. “I have no sensation or movement below my shoulders.”
Neuralink’s implant is the size of five stacked coins and was placed in Mr Arbaugh's brain through surgery, the company said.
“It’s like I’m using 'the force' with the cursor,” Mr Arbaugh said on the video, referencing the Star Wars franchise. “I’m so lucky to be part of this.”
The video of Mr Arbaugh has been viewed at least eight million and has quickly become a trending topic on X, also owned by Mr Musk.
The excitement surrounding the video comes less than two months after Mr Musk announced that Neuralink had installed a brain implant in a human for the first time.
Neuralink was founded in 2016, and while the video is generating excitement in medical and technology circles, the company is not alone in the assistive technology space.
Australia-based Synchron has similar technology that it says was implanted in patients in 2022. Unlike Neuralink, Synchron's technology is considered to be less invasive, and does not require cutting into the skull.
Neuralink has not been without criticism. It has been under investigation for alleged animal abuse during device testing. The company said it won approval last year from US regulators to test brain implants in humans.
Neuralink is based in California and has between 200 and 500 employees, its LinkedIn profile says.
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Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
more from Janine di Giovanni
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
