Hackers can harvest data from a Neuralink computer chip embedded inside someone’s brain, the first patient to receive the cutting-edge medical device has admitted.
Noland Arbaugh, the 29-year-old patient who was paralyzed below the shoulder after a diving accident, discussed the threat of hackers in a candid podcast interview with Joe Rogan.
Asked whether hackers could hack the brain chip, which is about the size of a coin and was developed by teams working at Elon Musk’s startup Neuralink, Arbaugh said: “The short answer is yes.”
“At this point, at least hacking, [the Neuralink interface] it wouldn’t do much,” he added. “You might be able to see some of the brain signals, you might be able to see some of the data that Link collects, and then you might be able to control my cursor on my screen and make me see strange things—but that’s about it.”
SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has poured millions into medical startup Neuralink
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SpaceX co-founder Elon Musk confirmed that the operation was successful and found that the patient was able to control a computer mouse with his thoughts at the end of February.
“The surgery was very easy,” Mr. Arbaugh told viewers in video streamed live on Elon Musk’s X social media platform, formerly Twitter, a month later. “I was literally out of the hospital a day later. I have no cognitive impairment.”
Mr. Arbaugh uses the Neuralink chip inside his head to move the cursor on the screen using his thoughts. The chip, which was inserted by a robot during a procedure that required only local anesthesia, has 1,024 electrodes that monitor brain activity in the area that controls the intention to move.
After he recovered from the surgery, Neuralink programmers worked with Mr. Arbaugh to move the cursor on the screen by thinking about moving his hand. He explained: “The signal is already being sent before you move your hand, your mind is saying ‘OK, he’s about to move his hand’, so the signal has to be sent all the way down and up in order for you to move your hand.
“So the speed at which this all happens is almost a little bit deterrent.”
Asked by Joe Rogan what he uses the brain chip to do, Arbaugh explained, “I’ve been using it to text people on X, to use Instagram, to answer emails, to playing fantasy sports, reading comics online, and accessing a site I use to learn Japanese,” he said. “I also used it to book a hotel when I visited Neuralink headquarters.”
According to Mr. Arbaugh, about 85% of the electrodes monitoring his brain activity have detached in the weeks since the operation, so the Neuralink chip is no longer working at full capacity. It is unclear what can be done to restore the missing functionality. He explained: “They’re going to have to test to see if the surgery to replace a Neuralink is safe at some point … so they’re going to have to do it in people who already have it.
“I imagine this kind of study might be something I would be involved in.”
Neuralink has shared the following clip on its website, offering a glimpse of what it hopes to achieve with its brain chip experiment
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Neuralink, which started in 2016, received approval to recruit the human trial in September 2023. At the time, the California company said it was seeking volunteers age 22 and older with quadriplegia caused by a cervical spinal cord injury. uterus or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
This week’s live broadcast on X marks the first time we learn the volunteer’s identity.
Not everyone has been taken aback by Neuralink’s revelations about the first human trials.
Kip Ludwig, former program director for neural engineering at the US National Institutes of Health, criticized the advances detailed by Neuralink, stating that nothing seen so far was “a breakthrough”.
“It’s still early days after implantation and there’s a lot of learning on both the Neuralink side and the subject side to maximize the amount of control information that can be achieved,” he added.
Still, Ludwig said it was a positive development for the patient that they were able to interface with a computer in a way they weren’t able to before the implant.
“It’s certainly a good starting point,” he admitted.
In previous public statements, the American company disclosed the implant CONTAINS 1024 electrodes that record neurological activity and wirelessly transmit the data to a connected app. This uses an algorithm to translate brain waves into computer controls.
The original goal was to enable someone to control a computer mouse pointer on a screen or type on a keyboard using their thoughts – something the startup now seems close to achieving.
A glossy promotional image of the types of brain chip being developed by Neuralink
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The first human trial, known as PRIME (Precise Robotically Implanted Brain-Computer Interface), will last for 18 months in total. The researchers will allow the patient to return home, with regular check-ups at a clinic. A five-year follow-up consisting of 20 clinic visits will succeed the initial trial period.
Neuralink says its initial clinical trial will take approximately six years to complete. If you would like to put your name on the list, You can register your details with the futuristic startup here. Or you can read the brain chip trial brochure here.
Musk says the technology tested by Neuralink has huge implications for society. According to the 52-year-old multi-billionaire, the surgical insertion of these chips could be used to treat conditions such as obesity, autism, depression and schizophrenia.
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It can also allow people with physical disabilities to use computers with their thoughts.
Neuralink, which was valued at $5 billion last year, has faced repeated calls for scrutiny over its security protocols. Reuters reported last month that the firm was fined for violating US Department of Transportation rules regarding the movement of hazardous materials.