Featured Image Credit: Velco Dar/Twitter
Topics: Elon Musk, Health, Technology, Neuralink
Ellie Kemp
The first ever person to be implanted with Elon Musk's Neuralink chip has shown how he can make drawings with his mind.
Noland Arbaugh, from from Arizona, became paralyzed below the shoulders after a diving accident while working as a camp counselor in 2016.
Billionaire Musk launched his US neurotechnology firm the same year - but it wasn't until May 2023 that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allowed Neuralink to test its implants on humans.
And last January, Noland made history as the first person to be implanted with the device.
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The brain-computer interface (BCI) chip - smaller than a 50 cent coin - is inserted into the skull with microscopic wires.
It works by targeting individual neurons, while ultra-thin wires with electrodes record brain activity and transmit it to external devices via Bluetooth, allowing users to control computers with just their thoughts.
Currently, only three people in the entire world are fitted with a Neuralink - a number Musk is confident will rapidly grow.
The main aim of this technology is to restore autonomy in people with paralysis and other disabilities.
But Musk also wants to Neuralink to one day be used for 'human/AI symbiosis'.
Essentially; to help improve memory and cognitive abilities - and for us to be able to do more slightly scary things, like saving and replaying memories.
While we're likely a long way from that yet, in the meantime, Noland has kept curious social media users updated on his progress.
He previously showed how he could independently play chess, video games and learn languages when he wasn't physically able to before.
More recently, he spoke to entrepreneur and author of Neuraleap: HOW BCI will redefine communication, business and governance, Velco Dar.
And during the interview, Noland demonstrated how he uses the devices N1 chip to draw digital photos on screen.
Admitting he's 'not artistic at all', Noland impressively drew flowers, the sun and a house using just his mind to control a cursor.
As Noland began drawing the stems of a pair of flowers, Velco expressed how he found the movement created just from his ‘incredible' to witness.
Noland responded: “I forget that people haven’t seen this constantly. I think, 'Oh yeah, this is just my life, this is how I use it and what I do with it.'”
He added: “I use it around people who’ve never seen it before and their jaws drop.”
Noland then talked Velco through how he 'clicks and drags' the cursor in his mind, describing it as almost like nudging the controls.
Then, when he thinks about clicks he thinks about a couple of different actions.
One is imagining flicking his thumb out to the left, while the other is pinky out to the right.
You can see Noland's process in the video above yourself, from the 45 minute mark onward.
It truly is fascinating to watch - and for sure a positive step forward for those with life-changing injuries.