Say what you will about Elon Musk and his many flaws – regardless, the neuralink is an incredible thing.
Neuralink is a chip in therein that translates thoughts into computer command.
Patient X is Noland Arbaugh, a young man paralyzed in a diving accident.
It is a brain computer interface (BCI), which works by detecting the tiny electrical impulses generated when humans think about moving, and translating these into digital command – in this case, moving a cursor on a screen.
Obviously, it’s the product of decades of work and research.
But it’s also an incredibly invasive procedure – installed into the neck’s jugular neck and inched up into the motor region of the brain by way of a blood vessel.
Noland now plays video games with his mind – and beats his friends at online chess.
He hopes he’ll be able to control his wheelchair next, but errors, in which he’s been disconnected, have been disheartening and even devastating.
But after the disconnection, scientists were able to improve the software.
However, it’s not infallible.
Like Neuralink, the device ultimately connects to the motor region of the brain.
Noland thinks that this is just the tip of the iceberg, and that we can’t even imagine what this technology will allow us to do in the future.
