On January 9th, 2024, Noland Arbaugh, Patient 1 for Neuralink got a chip implanted on his skull to help him control a computer as a wheelchair-constrained individual. He was able to control a computer and use it as a fully-abled person would be.
Here is a 4-minute update for those unfamiliar with the advancement:
This development is nothing short of incredible, and defines a paradigm-shift in our convergence with computers.
How does it work?
Well, think of brain signals as sound coming out of a stadium (cerebral cortex), these are decoded into actionable things such as limb or eye-movement. Putting a cap on with signal detectors is not enough, we can slightly hear what people are cheering for in the stadium but not fully. Inserting the fiber cables into the brain is like putting a microphone in the middle of the stadium so we can clearly hear the signals.
This allows people (such as Patient 1) to control the computer through signals that were used to originally control a mouse or a keyboard, just by thinking of the hand movements (which are calibrated via an AI-Model).
Implications
My predicted progression is as follows: mind controlled wheelchair –> mind controlled humanoid robots, a fully able counterpart/assistant that will do exactly what the person in the wheelchair wants them to.
Some wilder predictions indicate that these chips could restore any kind of neurological ailment such as vision for the blind, walking and functioning again. This would be done by using these chips as an bridge within the nervous system, acting as a bridge and bypassing non-functioning sections of the human nervous system to achieve a fully functional nervous system.
Even crazier, super-human capabilities — which as far as we’re concerned, we should leave to sci-fi writers for now.
TheWhyLab 