The First Human With Elon Musk’s Neuralink Implant Can Play Chess Using Brain Control

Elon Musk's highly ambitious startup Neuralink recently implanted a chip inside a human brain and demonstrated how he can control a computer without touching it. The company has now shared a video, where, the subject is playing a chess game using "Telepathy," the ability to play video games on a computer using brain control capabilities.

Billionaire Elon Musk is calling this "Telepathy," which is allowing the person to control the computer by just thinking about it. The same was live-streamed on X, previously known as Twitter to demonstrate the capabilities of Neuralink's chip and how it can change the way we use and access computers in the coming days.

The patient was also able to control the music, and in the video, he stated that the technology is "not perfect." Noland Arbaugh is the first human with a Neuralink chip implanted in his brain, and the team behind this technology is currently studying and understanding the capabilities of this chip, and also observing the patient regarding the various implications of the implant on his body and mind.

Arbaugh, a 29-year-old male recently suffered a spinal cord injury due to a "freak diving accident" eight years ago and he states that "The surgery was super easy" and "It has already changed my life." Besides chess, the patient has also played a Civilization VI video game, and he stated "I had given up on playing that game."

Neuralink is a device that can connect to a computer and helps users to control the same. The procedure was done on Arbaugh back in January 2024, and he was discharged just a day after the surgery.

Elon Musk also stated,- that besides the Telepathy capabilities, Neuralink in the future could also have other applications like Blindsight, which could help humans with vision-related problems in paralysed patients.

With the Neuralink, Elon Musk aspires to bridge the gap between humans and computers, where, the Neural Link with its cutting-edge electrode array can help people with disabilities to control digital devices, enabled by a unique brain-computer interface.

While Neuralink isn't the first venture that has offered human-computer linking, it's definitely the most promising one that could change the lives of people with physical disabilities in the near future.