Neuralink's First Human Subject Achieves Mind-Controlled Device Operation, Musk Announces

EElon Musk recently shared the latest progress of Neuralink’s first human trial participant during an interview with Fab TV, expressing positive expectations.

“We hope to receive the results from the first participant later this week,” Musk stated. “So far, the outlook appears promising, and I hope that by the end of this week, we will be able to announce that the first Neuralink participant has successfully controlled a mobile phone and computer using only their thoughts.”

On January 30, Musk posted on social media revealing that the first participant in Neuralink’s trial had successfully received an implant of the company’s brain-computer interface device and was recovering, though he did not disclose further details about the participant.

IT Home noted that Neuralink Corp announced last year it would recruit participants for its first human clinical trials, targeting patients with quadriplegia caused by cervical spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Patients implanted with the Neuralink device will be able to control computers and smartphones using only their thoughts, which is why Neuralink’s first product has been vividly named “Telepathy.”

In 2021, Neuralink released a video demonstrating the powerful capabilities of Telepathy by showing Pager, a nine-year-old macaque monkey, playing a Pong video game using only its thoughts.

“It enables you to control a smartphone or computer with just your thoughts, thereby indirectly controlling almost any device. The initial users will be those who have lost limb function. Imagine if Professor Hawking could communicate faster than a typist or an auctioneer—that is our goal,” Musk explained on social media.