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It's like watching a sci-fi TV series, Musk's brain-computer interface has changed so many experimental subjects, and this demonstration is finally alive.
Two days ago, Neuralink, a brain-computer interface company owned by Musk, did a ruthless job and asked the first volunteer to receive their company's brain implant to come to a live broadcast of the game, and play chess with his mind throughout the whole process.
The guy, Noland Arbaugh, was paralyzed by quadriplegia after a diving accident eight years ago due to a spinal injury, leaving him unconscious from the shoulder down.
But now he can control the mouse with his mind, chat and play chess at the same time, and talk and laugh and laugh:
Every movement of the mouse is controlled by his brain, and there is a feeling of consciousness uploading to the computer.
He also said that after his successful operation, the first thing he did was to play "Civilization 6" all night, working directly from late at night to 6 o'clock in the morning.
You're crazier than normal.
Regarding Musk's brain-computer interface, I have introduced it to you several times before. Neuralink was started by him in 2016, and in simple terms, it is to implant a chip in the brain, and then realize the control of electronic devices with "mind", and the further goal is to be able to cure paralysis and other diseases.
And Noland Arbaugh is the first human volunteer of Neuralink, according to him, the operation is very simple, you can be out of the hospital after an hour, there are no sequelae at the moment, and a lot of relevant information was revealed in the live broadcast.
This old brother is not yet 30 years old this year, and after being paralyzed, he is even worse than Dr. X, and his body is unconscious, and he can't move.
However, with the help of Neuralink, I can now play the game with my mind.
He said that he rarely played chess after he was paralyzed, and even if he wanted to play chess, he could not easily control the chess pieces by mind as he does now. It usually takes a stick in your mouth or with the help of your family to play for a while.
So, how does he move the control cursor?
This is mainly by training one's own imagination, such as directly using the brain imagination to control the movement of the right hand up and down, left and right, so as to correspond to the movement of the cursor. Once proficient, you can control it as much as you want as long as you stare at the screen and think about it.
It's like having a superpower, like telekinesis. And it's a good feeling for him to get better every day as he trains.
After all, as mentioned earlier, playing games is a luxury for him. Because of his illness, he basically gave up on his favorite games, especially those that were very time-consuming.
The reason is also very simple, he can't sit for a long time. He also needs help from his family to sit up, and he can't let his family stay up late with him. So if the family is going to rest, he must also lie down and go into sleep mode.
But after fully mastering Neuralink's equipment, he was able to play the game even while lying down, so he was so excited that he stayed up all night with Civilization 6. Playing wildly for 8 hours, I hit it until dawn in one go, and I directly turned it over to my brother.
And 8 hours is not his limit, it's just that the device needs to be recharged. In addition to playing games, it is also much more convenient to read books, and he has begun to learn French and Japanese. It is conceivable that this technique has really changed the life of a paralyzed patient.
Speaking of which, Musk's Neuralink has been experimenting with living animals since 2020. For example, live pigs were used at the beginning:
In 2021, Musk began to experiment with monkeys, and at that time monkeys could play some simple games with their minds:
And now that it has finally been used on human beings, of course, Musk has many ideas, such as helping people with disabilities stand up, helping blind people restore certain vision, and so on.
In fact, it is not only Neuralink, but also the research on brain-computer interfaces has been going on for many years. For example, if you play a game with your mind, you can actually do it by wearing some peripherals.
The streamer @Perrikaryal had previously challenged to control the game with his brain, and he also cleared Elden Ring:
This way of unleashing skills with your mind is really like you know how to do magic.
Last year, a team in Switzerland also got a paralyzed old guy back on his feet.
The older brother, Gert-Jan Oskam, had been paralyzed in a car accident for 12 years, but with a brain implant, he relearned how to control his legs.
Although he was still trembling, like a toddler, he finally changed his life that was completely paralyzed. However, the research team said that the system is still in the research stage, and it will be many years before it enters the patient room.
In short, a more sci-fi future may be just around the corner, and people are increasingly looking forward to how cool the future world will be.
(The pictures and information materials in the article come from the Internet)