At the recent Brainstorm Tech conference in Fortune, Noland Arbaugh, the first person to receive Neuralink Brain Interface (BCI) chip implants, showed how he played chess with the brain alone, a demonstration of innovative technology that shocked th...
At the recent Brainstorm Tech conference in Fortune, Noland Arbaugh, the first person to receive Neuralink Brain Interface (BCI) chip implants, showed how he played chess with the brain alone, a demonstration of innovative technology that shocked the audience. Arbaugh shared his first meeting with Elon Musk, the world's richest man, co-founder of Neuralink and backed his miserable journey.
Arbaugh's story began in 2016, when he had a diving accident at summer camp, which resulted in a trauma below his shoulders and his life was almost entirely dependent on his family. Over the years, his life was very limited and he could hardly leave his door until an unexpected call changed his life. A friend asked him if he was interested in implanting chips in his brain. Arbaugh's answer at that time was: "I have nothing better to do."
Neuralink was co-founded by Elon Musk in 2016 and was approved by the FDA in May 2023 after years of animal experiments. Arbaugh’s surgery was conducted on January 28, 2024 at the Barrow Neuroscience Institute in Arizona. During the surgery, an N1 chip of similar size to a hardcoin was implanted, and more than 1,000 microelectrodes were connected to it, capable of reading neural activities and converting them into digital instructions.
After 24 hours after the surgery, Arbaugh was discharged from the hospital and said he didn't need to take painkillers at all: "It doesn't hurt at all." He even joked that if he lost his memory and heard about a chip in his brain, he wouldn't believe it because he couldn't feel it at all.
In a conversation with Mathews, Arbaugh reveals that he met Elon Musk through FaceTime on the day of the surgery, and his only memory was that of complimenting Musk's flying clip. He met Musk again six months later, this time at Tesla's Austin Factory, where the two had a deeper exchange.
After the meeting ended, Arbaugh conducted a live demonstration, playing against international chess master Anna Cramling, relying entirely on thinking to control computer gambling. The game was broadcast live on Chess.com, showing how he used his mind to move chess pieces and execute complex strategies.Arbaugh said the technology changed his life, returning to school to study neuroscience, founded his own company, and embarked on a wide range of trips, including travel to Paris and several American cities. He now describes himself as always busy, which contrasts with his life before he implants in Neuralink chips.
The first person to get a Neuralink chip in his brain says he met Elon Musk on the day of his surgery: ‘He’s a cool dude’ 18 months after becoming the first human implanted with Elon Musk’s brain chip, Neuralink ‘Participant 1’ Noland Arbaugh says his whole life has changed Yes, He Let Elon Musk Put a Chip in His Brain “Sometimes I Forget I’m Paralyzed.” How Neuralink’s First Patient Found Freedom by Connecting His Brain to a Computer. PRIME Study Progress Update — User Experience Extended reading: Mask Neuralink's first tester: Brain chips transform their lives in a complete way Neuralink stepped out of the United States and gained Canada's permission to undergo human clinical experience Playing CS super-flow, Neuralink second-place experimenter has good post-art condition Neuralink The second case of human experiment surgery was successful, Mask: more than 400 extremely smooth operation Neuralink plans to implant chips for thousands of people by 2026! Mask announces interface plan for large brain machines
