Noland Arbaugh, the first patient of Elon Musk’s brain-machine interface company Neuralink , has experienced a major transformation in his life. Arbaugh, who had a Neuralink chip implanted in his brain a few months ago, announced that he has made significant progress in his daily life skills and plans to return to college in the future.
Neuralink’s first patient has started life over again: He’s learning new French and Japanese and plans to return to university
Arbaugh, who was paralyzed from the shoulders down after a diving accident in 2016, underwent surgery for the Neuralink implant in January. After the successful surgery, some adjustments were needed to ensure the device could fully function. But now, thanks to Neuralink, Arbaugh’s life has changed dramatically.
Arbaugh says he spends about four hours a day, five days a week, with the Neuralink team, testing and improving the implant’s functionality, and in his spare time, he uses the device to read, study the Bible and learn new languages.
Arbaugh, who said he is currently working on French and Japanese, spends three hours a day learning those languages. He also said he has started relearning math and plans to return to college one day to either finish his degree or work in neuroscience.
Arbaugh’s plans don’t stop at just education. He also aims to publish his creative projects, start a charity, and one day build a home for his family. “ I’m having a lot of fun, and my life has improved dramatically in a very short period of time ,” Arbaugh said, adding that it’s hard to put into words the experience.
This story is a real example of the potential of Neuralink and how brain-machine interface technology can radically change people’s lives. The patient’s transformation is seen as a promising development for many people in similar situations in the future.