Elon Musk insists paralyzed people will one day ‘walk again and use their arms normally’ – after the first Neuralink patient plays chess via telepathy
Elon Musk’s technological predictions sometimes seem to have been plucked straight from the pages of science fiction.
And now the billionaire has made one of his most stunning claims yet: He says his Neuralink brain chips will one day let paralyzed people walk again.
His claims come as Neuralink shared a video of one of the first human patients playing chess telepathically.
Currently the chip allows the brain to connect to computers, but Musk claims it could one day allow the brain to communicate with paralyzed parts of the body.
In a post on
Elon Musk said on X, formerly Twitter, that his Neuralink brain chip could be used in the future to help paralyzed patients regain control of their limbs and even walk again.
The Neuralink chip works by inserting very fine wires into parts of the brain to measure its activity. The device then sends these signals to computers, allowing the patient to control them remotely
The Neuralink brain chip has been in development since at least 2016, when Musk founded Neuralink as a medical research company.
However, it wasn’t until January this year that the company revealed that the first human patients had received the implant.
A livestream on X showed a paralyzed man, Noland Arbaugh, 29, using the Neuralink chip to play chess on his computer.
Mr. Arbaugh has been paralyzed from the neck down since a “freak driving accident” eight years ago.
However, after implanting a Neuralink chip as part of the first wave of human trials, Mr Arbourgh can now communicate directly with a computer.
‘Do you see that cursor on the screen? That’s all me… it’s all brainpower,” Mr Arbourgh said as he retrieved his computer cursor from his wheelchair.
Mr. Arbourgh likens the ability to using “The Force” from Star Wars, explaining that he loved chess before the accident robbed him of his mobility.
He adds, “This is one of the things that you all have made possible for me… I haven’t really been able to do much in the last few years.”
The disabled man, who suffered a freak diving accident eight years ago that left him paralyzed from the shoulders down, successfully played online chess using only his mind
Musk shared the livestream of paralyzed man Noland Arbaugh, 29, who used the Neuralink chip to play chess using ‘telepathy’
The Neuralink chip (pictured) is quite small compared to previous brain-computer interface devices, but still requires surgical implantation
Musk had previously announced that initial human trials had shown “promising detection of neuron spikes.”
However, this video offers the first real look at how the brain chip could impact the lives of paralyzed patients.
The chip itself works by embedding 64 wire-like electrodes in different places in the brain.
These wires can record spikes in brain activity and send that data wirelessly to a computer that uses machine learning to interpret the brain activity.
At X, Musk announced that the first Neuralink patient recovered well and that the first tests were promising
Musk has described the procedure as “like replacing a piece of the skull with a smartwatch.” Pictured: A visual image of what the electrodes will look like when implanted in the brain
To receive the chip, patients must have a small piece of their skull removed so that a “sewing machine-like” robotic surgeon can implant each of the wires.
The robotic surgeon then stitches the hole, leaving only a small scar around the incision.
Musk claims that patients will not need to go under general anesthesia during the 30-minute operation and should be able to go home the same day.
Mr Arbourgh said the operation was “super easy” and there was “nothing to be afraid of.”
In the operation, a ‘sewing robot’ removes a small piece of the skull, connects the thread-like electrodes to certain parts of the brain, sutures the hole closed and all that is visible is a scar left from the incision
Currently, the Neuralink chip functions as a ‘brain-computer interface’, meaning people can control a computer using their brain activity.
In Mr. Arbourgh’s case, as Neuralink engineer Bliss Chapman explained during the livestream, he can move a cursor by imagining or trying to move his arms.
But Musk now suggests the chip could also be used to send signals from the brain to other parts of the body.
This would be especially helpful for people with spinal cord damage and, Musk claims, could even allow them to regain use of their limbs.
Nolan Arbaugh (right, with a Neuralink engineer) is the first person to ever use Neuralink technology and says the surgery to implant it was ‘nothing to be afraid of’
In theory, a signal in the brain’s motor cortex could be recorded by the brain chip and sent to a second device embedded lower in the spine, below the damaged area.
This device could then replicate or somehow reproduce the brain’s signal, triggering muscle activation in previously paralyzed areas.
While this may seem far-fetched, there are already a growing number of real examples where this technique has been successful.
For example, a team of Swiss neuroscientists used a ‘digital bridge’ to enable a paralyzed man to walk up a flight of stairs and more than 100 meters.
In another case, researchers used a similar technique to regain partial control of hand muscles, allowing a paralyzed man to play Guitar Hero and grab a drink.
However, Musk has not yet provided more details on how Neuralink plans to implement this technology or when it could arrive.
Despite its noble ambitions, Neuralink has not been without controversy.
In particular, Musk’s company has faced fierce criticism for its alleged cruel treatment of laboratory animals, including monkeys.
As MailOnline exclusively revealed last month, the company is housing thousands of animals for testing the technology.
In these experiments, staff members drilled holes in the heads of monkeys and filled them with glue.
Documents showed that monkeys had their skulls operated on up to ten times before being euthanized.
At least 1,500 animals were killed during the development of the chip, including monkeys, pigs and sheep.