Elon Musk has revealed that the world’s first Neuralink patient has posted to social media using only the telepathic device. In a post to X, Musk reposts the patient’s first and only tweet on their account, in which they state that they were reinstated to X after being banned.
“Twitter banned me because they thought I was a bot,” Noland Arbaugh’s tweet reads.”X and Elon Musk reinstated me because I am.” The play on his new cyborg-like abilities garnered plenty of comments and engagement, congratulating Arbaugh and praising Neuralink’s capabilities. “This will help so many humans,” one user comments under the post.
Noland Arbaugh is a paralyzed man who has no control of his body from the shoulders down. However, he was successfully able to play a game of chess on a computer just with his mind, and now posts on social media by simply thinking of what to say. He compared his new ability with the Neuralink to possessing “the force,” the well-known telepathic ability featured in the Star Wars franchise.
Elon Musk and the Neuralink company hope to use the Neuralink chip technology to give people with disabilities and paralysis more control in their lives. The company is optimistic it can implant the chip successfully in more patients in the future, allowing more testing and eventual mass distribution. Neuralink says they will release more updates on X about the patient and what else they can accomplish with the brain chip implant soon. However, this is yet another sign of Neuralink’s potential to impact the lives of those who need it.