Brad Smith, the world’s first recipient of Elon Musk’s Neuralink brain chip, who is unable to communicate verbally due to a disease, has used it to edit and voice over videos for YouTube. The technology has also allowed a paralyzed man to play Mario Kart with his children.
Brad Smith, the world’s first recipient of Elon Musk’s Neuralink brain chip, who is unable to communicate verbally due to a disease, has used it to edit and voice over videos for YouTube. The technology has also allowed a paralyzed man to play Mario Kart with his children.
Smith is the third person in the world to have a Neuralink chip implanted; he is also the first patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) to receive the technology, Business Insider reports.
ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that primarily affects motor neurons—the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord responsible for controlling voluntary muscle movements. Over time, patients lose voluntary control over muscle movements, affecting their ability to speak, eat, move, and breathe independently.
Thanks to the implant, Brad Smith explained how the brain-computer interface allows him to use brain signals to control a mouse on a MacBook Pro for video editing. He says this is the first video edited using Neuralink.
The chip, located in the motor cortex of the brain, is about the size of five stacked coins and contains more than 1,000 electrodes. Smith says Neuralink doesn’t read his constant stream of thoughts, but rather interprets brain signals that indicate how and where he wants to move the cursor. At first, he tried to imagine moving his hand to control the cursor, but eventually found it more efficient to think about moving his tongue and clenching his jaw to control the cursor and virtually click the mouse.
To recreate a synthetic version of Brad Smith’s voice, artificial intelligence technologies were used — the AI learned from recordings made before he lost the ability to speak.
Smith previously said he used eye-contact technology to communicate, but that the technology was limited to dark rooms. He said the Neuralink implant allows him to communicate outdoors and in different lighting.
The Neuralink implant also allows Smith to play video games with his children, with a video showing him playing Mario Kart.
«I’ve been working towards this for years, but I still break down and cry. It’s really nice to have a purpose that’s bigger than me. I’m really excited to be able to serve others through this work in the future,» Smith said.
Recall that in March last year, Elon Musk announced another Neuralink product — the Blindsight implant, which can restore vision even to people who have lost both eyes. In September, the startup announced that the experimental implant received a «breakthrough device» designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
