Neuralink’s First Test Patient Demos Computer Control with Brain Chip—Video

Many have massive questions about Neuralink's first test patient, but earlier today, the company shared a live stream to reveal the actual demonstration of how its brain chips work.

Here, the company revealed for the first time Nolan Arbaugh, the 29-year-old recipient of its brain chip, detailing the surgical experience down to his use of the implant for remotely controlling a computer.

Neuralink has long touted the effectiveness of its brain implant, but there was no evidence of its substantial claims for human trials until now.

Neuralink's First Test Patient Demos Brain Chip Computer Control

The recent Neuralink live stream on X is the first-ever demonstration of the company's brain chip that was applied to a human, with Arbaugh being the first test subject of the implant. Here, Arbaugh alongside a Neuralink engineer went live to detail the events of the surgery, the recovery process, and how he learned to control computers using only his thoughts.

Arbaugh is seen to have recovered completely, corroborating the previous post by Elon Musk on X where he only shared the information using words, leading to many doubting his statement.

The first human test subject claimed that the surgery was 'super easy,' and this led him to figure out how to differentiate imagination from reality. Arbaugh claimed that through training himself, he was able to use his thoughts to move the computer's mouse cursor and control it.

Is the Neuralink Brain Chip a Success?

Musk also commented on this recent demonstration, calling this brain chip feature "Telepathy" which helps control computers by only thinking about it. Arbaugh claimed that at first, it was only moving the cursor and pausing a music player on the computer, but his continued efforts paired with the Neuralink chip helped him play computer chess and Civilization VI.

Before this, Arbaugh used mouthsticks to control the game, but with the Neuralink implant, he could play for as much as eight hours before the chip needed to recharge.

Neuralink's Human Trials

In late 2023, Neuralink announced the start of its first-ever human applications for the brain implant chip that have massive claims in allowing a disabled person to control devices using their thoughts. This was under the PRIME Study program which the company launched after it received regulatory approval for human trials from the US Food and Drug Administration.

Elon Musk and Neuralink both started the search for its first human test subject to get its controversial brain chip, as before this, it was only tested on animals. Through the years, Neuralink has touted that it is ready to move forward to human applications, but it faced massive scrutiny from animal rights groups and other concerned parties about the risks of doing so.

This year, the world was given the news that Neuralink's first human application was a success and that the patient already recovered and was able to control the computer with his brain. However, it was not until today that the company previewed the actual demonstration to the world, with Arbaugh testifying to the technology's effectiveness in letting him control the computer with his thoughts.