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'Elon Musk gave me a Neuralink brain implant - it's given me hope for the future again,' quadriplegic man tells LBC
18 October 2024, 18:32 | Updated: 18 October 2024, 18:36
Watch Again: Noland Arbaugh joins Tom Swarbrick to discuss how his brain chip has changed his life
A quadriplegic man who was given the first Neuralink brain implant has told LBC's Tom Swarbrick that it has "opened up a whole world of opportunities" for him.
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Noland Arbaugh, 30, who was paralysed in a swimming accident in 2016, was given the pioneering implant earlier this year.
The technology, implanted surgically, allows him to perform certain computer functions with his brain.
He can now play chess and other games on a computer using his thoughts, even competing in a speed chess tournament earlier this year.
Mr Arbaugh said that the Neuralink implant had changed his life.
Noland Arbaugh says the Neuralink brain chip has 'opened up a whole world of opportunities'
"One of the first times I ever gained cursor control, I was blown away." he told Tom.
"I thought this technology was just the most fascinating piece of hardware that they could have ever implanted in me."
He added that using the brain implant "it just became second nature."
"I remember, even a couple weeks in, I was just so casual with using it every day. But people would come by and see me interacting with a computer, and their jaws would drop, and it reminded me constantly how incredible this technology is.
"It's obviously not something you see every day. So it was a it was a lot of fun at the beginning, it was a lot of fun.
"Actually, it's been a lot of fun this entire time. I'm so cavalier about it now, I just feel as if it's just a part of my daily life.
"I forget that I'm physically controlling things with my brain. It just doesn't register with me anymore."
Noland Arbaugh explains how he controls a computer with his brain using the Neuralink brain chip
Neuralink was founded by Elon Musk, along with other scientists and engineers, in 2016. The implants were tested on animals at first, such as pigs and monkeys. The company has been criticised for its treatment of these animals.
Neuralink then got approval for testing on humans in 2023. They were looking for a quadriplegic participant. Mr Arbaugh applied, was told he was selected in December last year, then had the chip implanted in late January this year.
He said he thought through "all of the pros and cons" before the surgery.
"Obviously, I have the worst version of this implant that is ever going to be in a person. I didn't know what the outcome would be. This is a brand new device. It's a novel surgery in general. It's the first time they'd use this specific robot in the surgery.
"So there was a lot that I needed to think through, a lot that I needed to talk with my family about, prepare them for worst possible outcomes."
Despite all that, he said he was "just excited" and "never afraid" about the prospect. "I was completely at peace with the whole with the whole thing."
He said that the Neuralink chip required a lot of calibration after it was first implanted, over about ten days. But he hopes that this period will be reduced for future patients.
Mr Arbaugh said the implant had given him "a lot of hope for the future about what [he is] capable of doing.
"Before Neuralink, I had tried doing a lot of things. I had tried getting work, I had tried going back to school. I mean, nothing seemed to fit, nothing seemed possible.
"And after Neuralink, it's opened up a whole world of opportunities."
A second patient reportedly had a Neuralink chip implanted in August, and Mr Arbaugh said he was excited about the future possibilities of the technology.
He said that in future if two people were having a conversation in mutually unintelligible languages, if they both had Neuralink the implant may be able to translate for them - radically improving people's ability to communicate.
Mr Arbaugh said he also thought the Neuralink implant might even be able to help people with spinal cord injuries walk again.
"It really is just a whole new world that we're exploring here - a new frontier," he said.
