Elon Musk announces successful recovery of first Neuralink patient who can control PC cursor with thoughts

Billionaire Elon Musk’s Neuralink has started experimenting on humans after conducting extensive testing on animals. The neurotechnology company recently received approval from the FDA and successfully implanted a chip in a patient’s skull during its first clinical trial. Despite the high risks involved, Musk claims that the recipient has fully recovered from the procedure.

Neuralink’s first human subject is recovering

Speaking about Spaces on X, Elon Musk shed some light on the current condition of the first Neuralink patient. Musk said, “Progress is good. [The patient] appears to have made a full recovery with no adverse effects that we know of.

For the uninitiated, the Neuralink trial is part of the company’s PRIME trial, which aims to help patients with neurological disorders caused by the brain’s inability to connect with nerves in a part of the body. The implanted chipset, called N1, has very thin wires attached to it that extend into the brain. The wires can receive and detect brain signals that are transmitted between neurons, and they can also generate their own impulse that mimics the impulse of neurons.

Does it achieve the goals?

According to Musk, the patient is currently able to move the mouse pointer on the screen just by thinking about something that looks like something straight out of a science fiction movie.

Musk said, “We’re trying to get as many of the button-press thinking as possible. To get mouse left, right mouse, mouse up and down, which is absolutely essential if you want to click and drag something? You need those [those controls].”

While Musk emphasized that the goal is to get a lot more than just two button presses, “overall it looks good,” he added.

How does the experiment help people?

According to Musk, this Neuralink experiment is primarily aimed at helping the paralyzed. In time, it could potentially be used to help those with vision and hearing impairments. But the ultimate goal? Merging humanity with artificial intelligence (AI) that’s something straight out of Cyberpunk 2077.