The first person to obtain a neural chip in his brain says he met Elon Musk on the day of his surgery: “ it is a cool guy ”
The participants of the Brainstorm Tech de fortune conference attended a demonstration of technological innovation and human resilience last week when Noland Arboash, the first human recipient of the Brain-Mord (BCI) interface, played chess using only his thoughts. Arbaugh also shared frank information on his pioneering career, including his first memorable meeting with the co -founder of Neuralink and the richest man in the world, Elon Musk.
Arbaugh’s trip started with a diving accident in a summer camp in 2016, which left the former student in Texas A&M paralyzed with the shoulders and largely dependent on his family. For years, Arbaugh has experienced what he describes as a very limited existence.
“I was standing every hour of (the) night, I slept when, waking up every time I wanted because I had nothing to plan, I had nothing to do in my life,” he said Fortune Senior writer Jessica Mathews during their conversation. Arbaugh said that he had left his house only a year a year.
“Before Neuralink, I thought I would never come back again,” he said. “(I) thought I would stay in my room.”
Then came an unexpected telephone call that would change his life. A friend asked if he would be interested in setting up a chip in his brain. Arbaugh said he remembered his answer that day: “I said:” There was nothing better to do “.”
Become the first patient and meet Elon Musk
Neuralink, co -founded by Elon Musk in 2016, spent years developing and testing his technology on animals before receiving FDA approval for human trials in May 2023. The surgical procedure of Arbaugh took place on January 28, 2024, at the Barrow Neurological Institute of Phoenix, about 2.5 hours from his home in Yuma. Two -hour surgery involved implanting a chip the size of a room under its skull, connected to more than 1,000 electrodes that can read the neural activity and translate it into digital controls.
Arbaugh said he had been released from the hospital only after surgery with a prescription for pain medication, but insisted that he had never even needed to take Tylenol: “It didn’t hurt at all.”
“I like to joke and tell people that if I lost my memory and tomorrow you told me that I had a chip in my brain, I would not believe you,” he said. “I can’t feel it. I don’t even know it’s there. ”
During his conversation with Mathews, Arbaugh revealed a particularly memorable detail: he met Elon Musk on the day of his surgery, via FaceTime. Still a little under the influence of anesthesia, the main memory of Arbaugh of this first meeting was to complete the Musk bomber jacket. “I was like, his bomber was so cool,” he recalls.
Arbaugh again met Musk about six months later at Austin Gigafactory in Tesla, where they had what the 31 -year -old implant patient described as a more substantial conversation. “He’s a cool guy,” said Arbaugh, noting that their conversation was not limited to Neuralink’s affairs: he and Musk “had just fun” and discussed SpaceX and even a “little extraterrestrial speech.”
Arbaugh c. Cramling
After his questions and answers with Matthews, the brainstorm technological crowd was able to see in first hand what Arbaugh can accomplish with his neuronal implant. During a live demonstration, he played chess against the chess master recognized internationally, Anna Cramling, completely controlling the computer cursor through thought. The game, broadcast live on Chess.com, has shown arblement moving parts and performing complex strategies using only its mind.
“I just think of the place where I want the cursor to go,” ARBAUugh in the public told. “It’s quite simple. Not very difficult. I think people will be surprised to see how intuitive cursor control is. ”
Arbaugh said technology has completely transformed its best perspectives. He said he returned to school to continue a diploma in neuroscience, started his own business and started traveling in depth, including trips to Paris and several American cities. He now describes himself as “so busy all the time”, a contrast striking with his life before birth.
While Arbaugh continues its role as unofficial ambassador for Brain-Competant interface technology. “All my reason to do it was just to help people from the start,” he told Mathews. “I knew that if it worked, if that were not the case, whatever the case, I would help someone, and (neuralink) would have learned something.”
Watch the fortune of the conversation of Arbaugh Brainstorm tech below.
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