The man with a chip to read mind in his brain thanks to Elon Musk

Having a chip in your brain, which can translate your thoughts into computer commands, may sound like science fiction – but it’s a reality for Nond Arbaugh.

In January 2024 – eight years after he was paralyzed – the 30 -year -old became the first person to receive such a device from the American Neurotechnology Company, Neuralink.

It was not the first chip such – a handful of other companies also developed and implanted them – but inevitably attracted more attention to NOLand because of the founder of Neuralink: Elon Musk.

But Noland says that it is neither he nor Musk – but science.

He told the BBC that he knew the risks of what he was doing – but “good or bad, whatever, I will help.”

“If everything happens, then I could help be a participant in Neuralink,” he said.

“If something terrible happened, I knew they would learn from it.”

Noland, who is from Arizona, was paralyzed under the shoulders of a dive incident in 2016.

His injuries were so severe that he was afraid that he might not be able to study, work or even play games again.

“You just have no control, no confidentiality and it’s difficult,” he said.

“You have to learn that you should rely on other people for everything.”

The Neuralink chip seems to restore some of its previous independence, allowing it to control a computer with its mind.

It is what is known as a brain computer interface (BCI) – which works by detecting small electrical impulses generated when people think of moving, and translating them into a digital command, such as moving a cursor to the screen.

This is a complex topic over which scientists have been working for several decades.

The participation of Elon Musk in the area is inevitably catapulted the technology – and Noland Arbo – in the titles.

Helped Neuralink to attract a lot of investment – as well as control over the safety and importance of what is an extremely invasive procedure.

When noland implant was announced, The experts welcomed him as a “significant cornerstone”At the same time warning that it will take time to really appreciate it – especially given the adequacy of Musk in “generating publicity for his company.”

At that time, Musk was Caji in public, simply writing in a social media publication: “The initial results show a promising discovery of a neuroni spike.”

In fact, said Noland, the billionaire – whom he spoke with before and after his surgery – was far more optimistic.

“I think he was as excited as I started,” he said.

Nevertheless, he emphasizes that Neuralink is more than his owner and claims that he does not consider him a “device of the Elon Musk”.

Does the rest of the world sees it this way – Especially given its increasingly reflective role in the US government – It remains to be seen.

But there is no questioning of the influence that the device has on the life of Noland.

When Noland woke up from the operation that installed the device, he said he was initially able to control a cursor on the screen by thinking about waving his fingers.

“Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect – it sounds so scientific fiction,” he said.

But after seeing that his neurons jump on the screen – all the time surrounded by excited Neuralink employees – he said “all this is sunk in” that he can control his computer only with his thoughts.

And – even better – over time, its ability to use the implant has grown to the extent that he can now play chess and video games.

“I grew up to play games,” he said – I added that this was something he had to let go when disabled.

“Now I am my friends for games, which should not be possible, but it is.”

NOLAND is a powerful demonstration of the potential of technology to change life – but there may be disadvantages.

“One of the main problems is confidentiality,” says Anil Seth, Professor of Neuroscience, University of Sussex.

“So, if we export our brain activity (…), then we allow ourselves to access not only what we do, but also potentially what we think, what we believe in and what we feel,” he told the BBC.

“Once you have access to things in your head, there really is no other barrier to personal privacy.”

But these are no worries about Noland – instead he wants to see that the chips are going on to what they can do.

He told the BBC that he hoped the device eventually would allow him to control his wheelchair or even a futuristic humanoid robot.

Even with the technology in its present, more limited state, all this was not a smooth sailing.

At one point, the problem with the device made him completely lose control of his computer when he partially excludes from his brain.

“It was really disgusting the least,” he said.

“I didn’t know if I could use Neuralink never again.”

The connection was corrected – and subsequently improved – when engineers corrected the software, but she emphasized that she was often expressed by experts on technology restrictions.

Neuralink is just one of many companies that explore how to get involved in their brain power.

Synchron is one such company that says its Sentrode device, aimed at helping people with motor neuron disease, requires less invasive implant surgery.

Instead of requiring open brain surgery, it is installed in the jugular vein of a person in their neck, and then moves to their brain through a blood vessel.

Like Neuralink, the device is eventually connected to the brain’s motor region.

“This is raised when someone is thinking of tapping or tapping their finger,” said Chief Technology Director Ricky Banerje.

“As we can gain these differences, this can create what we call a digital motor.”

This output becomes computer signals where it is currently used by 10 people.

One such person who did not want his surname to be used to use the BBC that he was the first person in the world to use Apple’s Vision Pro Headset device.

Mark said this allowed him to rest in distant places – from standing waterfalls in Australia to a walk through the mountains in New Zealand.

“In the future, I can see a world in which this technology can really make a change for someone who has this or any paralysis,” he said.

But for Noland there is a warning with the Neuralink chip – he agreed to be part of a study that installs it for six years, after which the point of the future is less clear.

Whatever happens to him, he believes that his experience can be simply scratching the surface of what can one day become a reality.

“We know so little about the brain and this allows us to learn a lot more,” he said.

Additional reporting from Yasmin Morgan-Griffiths.