Neuralink Patient Is Playing Video Games With His Brain
The merging between man and machine which has been humanity’s dream (or fear) isn’t quite a novelty. The ancient Greek god Hephaestus created automata to assist him in his work, the work of Charles Babbage in the 19th century inspired many to imagine the possibilities of machines enhancing human intellectual capacity, and in 1958, the man who would be later recognized as the first cyborg, Peter Scott-Morgan, was born. Now, in 2024, Neuralink’s second patient is playing video games using his brain.
Take a look at the game-play for yourself:
Okay, all humans use their brains to do plenty of stuff, but what makes Alex—Neuralink’s second patient—interesting is the fact that he’s playing video games using the brain-computer interface chip. Apparently, Alex likes Counter-Strike 2, browsing the web, and building stuff in Fusion 360. Neuralink shared Alex’s progress and achievements with the brain-computer interface earlier this week, stating that Alex used the implant to control the computer and designed a mount for his Neuralink charger, which he had 3D printed.
Both Elon Musk and Neuralink previously introduced us to Noland Arbaugh, who was so lucky that he could control the computer using his brain that he pulled a Civilization VI all-nigher just to celebrate
This is truly an amazing technological feat; all we need now are some small but strong servos, someone to make the Black Carapace, and with Neuralink’s implants, we’ll have a working Mark X Tacticus Power Armor from Warhammer 40k. All jokes aside, this has some serious applications, as further developments could help the disabled control their prosthetics in a way they haven’t been able to before.
One of those precautions involves reducing the brain’s motion during surgery and reducing the gap between the Neuralink implant and the surface of the brain.
Alex, the gaming patient, is, as stated before, Neuralink’s second patient to receive the implant this year. Both Elon Musk and Neuralink previously introduced us to Noland Arbaugh, who was so lucky that he could control the computer using his brain that he pulled a Civilization VI all-nigher just to celebrate—which is enough to drain the battery of the Neuralink’s chip. However, despite the success, the first patient had some complications with the chip after some of the connecting threads retracted from Arbaugh’s brain. This caused data loss between the brain and the device. Fortunately, Neuralink quickly managed to fix that particular problem.
Fortunately, the team at Neuralink learned their lesson, and they implemented a number of mitigations to reduce the probability of chip thread retraction in Alex’s case. One of those precautions involves reducing the brain’s motion during surgery and reducing the gap between the Neuralink implant and the surface of the brain. So far, Neuralink’s second patient hasn’t experienced any thread retraction or any of its consequences.
Neuralink shared Alex’s progress and achievements with the brain-computer interface earlier this week, stating that Alex used the implant to control the computer and designed a mount for his Neuralink charger, which he had 3D printed.
Neuralink is an Elon Musk-backed startup company that has been implanting computer chips in the brains of people with spinal cord injuries, operating for nearly a decade in the field of neurotechnology. The company strives to interface the computers with the human brain, allowing users to control the computer using their minds—that’s quite impressive. Thus far, the company has shown great promise, but it isn’t without its fair share of controversies, which become really noticeable as the years pass by.
Neuralink also faced a federal probe over reports of animal abuse, but the subsequent investigation revealed only one incident of animal abuse.
Source: Neuralink
