Musk announced that the brain-computer trial began to admit a second patient, and the first implanted subject told about the great changes in life

Finance Associated Press

2024-05-17 20:59Published on the official account of Cailianshe under Shanghai Shanghai Poster Industry Group

Finance Associated Press, May 17 (edited by Shi Zhengcheng) On Friday, local time, Elon Musk, the founder of brain-computer interface company Neuralink, announced that after 100 days of successful surgery for the first patient who participated in the company's brain-computer device implantation experiment at the beginning of the year, he officially began recruiting the second patient to receive brain-computer implantation.

(Source: X)

As the technical background of the whole thing, the N1 implant developed by Neuralink needs to be surgically placed in the user's skull, and the device is directly implanted into the brain to receive neuronal signals by connecting more than 1,000 electrodes, so that the implanter can operate a computer and mobile phone with just "mind".

At present, such devices are mainly used in paralyzed patients, and Musk has also said that he hopes to expand the indications to people with hearing and vision impairment, and eventually help "humans and artificial intelligence combined".

（来源：Neuralink）

After years of trial and polish (and a lot of controversy), the U.S. FDA finally gave Neuralink a nod last year to allow Neuralink to conduct human trials. Noland Arbaugh, the first patient to participate in the trial, was implanted at the end of January this year. He also spoke out for the first time, detailing the "earth-shaking" changes in his life after participating in the trial, while responding to previous rumors that "electrodes have fallen off".

Life has changed dramatically

That summer of 2016, 22-year-old Nolan was just an average Texas college student. During a play at the lake, he injured his spine, paralyzing him from the neck down. Since then, his life has changed dramatically — he needs to operate an electric wheelchair by blowing air into a tube, and his solution to operate an iPad is to tap the screen with a stick in his mouth.

(诺兰演示用棍子使用iPad,来源:Neuralink)

Last September, when Neuralink began recruiting its first test subject, Nolan received a call from his former roommate, and the two discussed it and filled out an online questionnaire. Neuralink contacted Nolan the next day and arranged a follow-up in-person inspection.

In the end, Nolan underwent surgical implantation on January 28 this year local time, and Musk also rushed to the scene to witness this historic moment.

（来源：Neuralink）

Neuralink explained that the implant works by collecting data on the emission of neurons in the brain, with the help of AI, which matches specific neuronal activity patterns to specific actions and translates them into actions that occur on a computer. In short, from that moment on, Nolan had the ability to operate a computer using his "mind".

After an initial adaptation, Nolan gradually adapted to the ability to operate a computer through brain waves. He can already chat with people and play chess on his computer at the same time. In addition to browsing the website and shopping, Nolan is also able to play the war game "Civilization" on the computer more easily.

He can even sit in front of the TV and play Super Mario Kart, manipulating the game's cars and props is obviously much more difficult than tapping on a point on the screen.

（来源：Neuralink）

Not a perfect start

However, the implant in Nolan's brain soon underwent unexpected changes.

After about a month of testing, Nolan found that his control of the computer's cursor was starting to become less accurate, and that his thoughts and the changes in the display on the computer were becoming more and more delayed. The current explanation for this phenomenon is that the electrodes implanted in Nolan's brain have shifted more than expected, affecting the connection between his mind and the computer.

Potential reasons for this unexpected change include that human brains are much larger than animals, so they are more prone to shaking; Nolan's skull is a bit thicker than the average person, which may also affect the way the implant is positioned.

Faced with the rapid failure of Nolan's "superpowers", Neuralink quickly took countermeasures. Software engineers tweaked the algorithm for recording data from neurons and made changes to the way data was analyzed and transmitted to computers. For now, at least, Nolan is quickly back to being able to chat and operate the computer at the same time.

Nolan said he now uses the implant for 10 to 12 hours a day, resting it only when the device is charging or when he's sleeping. Recently, he began using an implant-controlled cursor to track letters on the screen, the first step in training the AI to recognize the words he thinks. In the long run, he hopes to become a fantasy novelist.

For now, Nolan also hopes to find a way to make a living from this experience and reduce the burden on his family. He hopes to earn enough money to build a new house for his mother.

According to Nolan's agreement with Neuralink, he will provide the data to the company within one year of implanting the device, after which they will discuss whether to deactivate or remove the device next. But Nolan said he would prefer to keep the device and upgrade the interface in his head when the next generation is ready.

"I bet the next person to get this thing will feel the same way I do, and once you try it, you can't stop," Nolan said. This device really blew me away. ”

(Finance Associated Press, Shi Zhengcheng)

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