Elon Musk has said his Neuralink technology company has successfully implanted one of its brain chips in a human for the first time as part of a clinical trial.
In a post on 29 January on X, formerly Twitter, Musk wrote: “The first human received an implant from Neuralink yesterday and is recovering well. Initial results show promising neuron spike detection.”
The Neuralink brain-computer interface (BMI) will initially be used to help people with complex neurological conditions.
“For any company producing medical devices, the first test in humans is a significant milestone,” Professor Anne Vanhoestenberghe of King’s College London told the BBC.
“For the brain-computer interface community, we must place this news in the context that whilst there are many companies working on exciting products, there are only a few other companies who have implanted their devices in humans, so Neuralink has joined a rather small group.”
Neuralink has not provided any information about the procedure that Musk said has taken place, although it did repost Musk’s message on X.
The company was given permission to test the chip on humans by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in May 2023. It started recruiting for clinical trials in September.
In another post on X, Musk said Neuralink’s first product would be called Telepathy. This would enable “control of your phone or computer, and through them almost any device, just by thinking”, he wrote.
“Initial users will be those who have lost the use of their limbs. Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a speed typist or auctioneer. That is the goal.”
Neuralink has been criticised in the past. In December 2022, Reuters reported that the company was under federal investigation for potential animal welfare violations.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in July 2023 that it had not found any violations of animal research rules at Neuralink.
However, a separate USDA investigation is ongoing.
Musk, who also heads SpaceX and Tesla, said Neuralink had implanted a wireless chip into a “totally happy” monkey’s brain in 2021. He said the monkey could play video games using just his mind.
But what would a Neuralink chip look like in the attractions industry? Operators have been utilising technologies such as AI, AR and VR in recent years to enhance their experiences.
Like Musk’s “totally happy” monkey, visitors fitted with the chips could interact with gamified elements and other people in theme park environments and on rides.
Images courtesy of Neuralink
