Neuralink’s First Patient is Learning French and Japanese Using “The Link” Brain Chip Interface

https://thedebrief.org/neuralinks-first-patient-is-learning-french-and-japanese-using-the-link-brain-chip-interface/

7 Comments

  1. > On January 29, 2024, Arbaugh made history as the first person to receive Neuralink’s revolutionary brain implant, “The Link,” during clinical trials. The 30-year-old quadriplegic, who volunteered for the procedure, was paralyzed from the shoulders down following a diving accident. Since the implantation, the device has granted him what have been characterized as “cyborg” abilities, allowing him to control various technologies—which includes playing Mario Kart and Chess—using only his mind. “The surgery was super easy,” Arbaugh said in a video he posted on X in March.

    > On August 29th, Arbaugh took to X again, sharing that, “In my free time, Eve (what I’ve named my Neuralink device) and I have been working towards improving myself in many different ways. Currently, I’m learning French and Japanese for roughly three hours a day using a few different resources.”

    > However, Neuralink has faced some unforeseen issues. Earlier this year, the company reported that Arbaugh experienced medical problems due to the developing technology. Some threads connecting the interface to his brain retracted. Neuralink quickly addressed this issue, recently stating that adjustments were made to Arbaugh’s chip algorithm, which resolved the problem.

    > After what could be seen as a scary experience, Arbaugh jokingly—or perhaps chillingly—expressed his thoughts on X: “We’re waiting for FDA approval allowing me to control other physical machines such as a car, a drone, maybe a robot or two or 10,000. Something about making sure it’s safe…”

  2. They’ll be making fake hyped up claims for years just like Tesla. Nobody falling for Musk’s bs anymore.

  3. tryingtobecheeky on

    Title made it sound like its downloading into his mind. Good on him for studying languages though.

  4. In other news, The Debrief got a few more clicks due to the clickbaity title of its article but lost trust from most of them soon thereafter.

  5. The key question here is, “how good is your French and Japanese now?” Is it, for example, demonstrably better than if you just devoted three hours a day to it? Or has the chip somehow given you an edge?

    Three hours a day for any language will see you making good progress, brain chip or no.

  6. Am I missing something or is the article not at all mentioning how the implant is involved with the language learning?