First interview with the first cyborg!

The first Neuralink recipient talks about it

I have been following Neuralink for a long time… Basically since the beginning. I even made this video years ago to talk about the opportunity for people living with ALS.

Now it is real. In this article from Bloomberg, Noland Arbaugh talks about his experience as the first patient with the Neuralink implant in his brain.

I prefer to listen, so I used AI to read the article to me.

Neuralink also made a promotional video featuring Noland.

Now, there have been countless articles about how the implant failed. Because the media follows a simple formula…

Elon Musk + controversy = clicks

The hullabaloo came from a blog post from Neuralink.

In the weeks following the surgery, a number of threads retracted from the brain, resulting in a net decrease in the number of effective electrodes. This led to a reduction in BPS (Fig 04). In response to this change, we modified the recording algorithm to be more sensitive to neural population signals, improved the techniques to translate these signals into cursor movements, and enhanced the user interface. These refinements produced a rapid and sustained improvement in BPS, that has now superseded Noland’s initial performance.

The articles ignore the fact that this is a research study! The purpose of this study is to determine the safety of this procedure. Noland was asked about this in the article.

But about a month into the practice sessions he found he had less precise control of the cursor on his screen and noticed a lag between his thoughts and the computing actions. These issues were the result of the electrode-laced threads in Arbaugh’s brain shifting around much more than Neuralink had seen during its animal trials. This disrupted the quality of the connections between his mind and his computer. His superpower began to fade.

The company has yet to disclose detailed information on what it believes caused the threads to move so much. One issue could be that the human brain is bigger than animal brains and sloshes around more.>< Arbaugh also has a thicker-than-average skull, which may have affected the way the threads settled into his tissue. Arbaugh will continue using the current version of the implant, but it’s likely that Neuralink will adjust its surgical procedures, and possibly parts of the implant itself, to address the problems as it heads toward testing the device on more patients this year.

So, they are learning to deal with the challenges of humans. That is the whole goal of this study. And, the Neuralink team was able to adapt the system to compensate for the lost signal.

Criticisms ignore that this system is life-changing!!

What the critics ignore in their search for clicks: This is the first system to work at home. Outside the lab. Previous systems have been limited to lab settings or limited functions.

In his first day using the Neuralink implant, Noland broke the record for speed with a brain computer interface (BCI)! I am writing this on a computer with huge modifications to the hardware and software to follow my eyes. Noland can speak and move his neck. I can only move my eyes.

ALS is much better now with technology. But, I would roll over hot coals to get this fast with a mouse. One Neuralink employee quoted a different ALS patient saying he would give up half of his remaining life to never have to calibrate his eye gaze again! I know exactly how he feels.

I am so excited for Noland and the Neuralink team! This is a huge accomplishment!!

I am also excited for me. I am ready yesterday!

If I had Neuralink…

• I could go outside and be less of a Batman. Because eye gaze does not work in bright light.

• I could talk and write faster, so I could respond when my kids tell me something awesome before they run away.

• I could look away from my computer without the fear that something embarrassing would click unintentionally… like the “I need to pee” button in church!

• I could play games with my kids. More than the slow ones that work with eye gaze randomly clicking. I could play the games that they want to play.

• I could edit video and images again, to tell stories.

• I could control my wheelchair with the computer! Right now I have to ask for everything.

• I could sit in different positions.

I could do so much more… With control over the point and click.

I am ready for Neuralink. Cut me open!

Here are some more videos on YouTube from Noland

First public stream…

Neuralink meeting with Noland…