Future Cyborgs: Bridging Minds and Machines with Neuralink

By Jenny Tsz Wai Chen

The Lawrenceville School

With Elon Musk’s Neuralink having performed a trial on their second patient in August, many scientists from around the world are now closely following the company’s major breakthroughs in BCI technology – its implements for the medical field as well as its potential societal impacts.

What is Neuralink’s technology?

Elon Musk, who gathered world’s top scientists in fields such as neuroscience, engineering and programming, launched the neurotechnology startup Neuralink in June 2016. The company sought to develop a brain-computer interface that would give patients with quadriplegia “the ability to control their computer and mobile devices with their thoughts”.

The product so far? A chip called the Link, about the size of a coin. Attached are 64 threads connecting to the brain that uses 1024 electrodes to acquire brain signals sent by neurons. The device is able to record then transmit the data to an electronic device via a Bluetooth connection, allowing the patient to carry out their thoughts on a computer, for example. The chip comes with a surgical robot responsible for performing the delicate process of “cosmetically invisible” implanting – using 5 camera systems and an optical coherence tomography (OCT) system, the threads are precisely weaved into the patient’s cerebral cortex, which is responsible for processes like language, thought, and emotion.

In other words, the device may potentially help people with paralysis to have full control over their electronic devices as well as even prosthetics, with just their thoughts. “In the future”, Neuralink wishes “to restore capabilities such as vision, motor function, and speech, and eventually expand how we experience the world.”

Why is BCI the leading innovation and how does it differ from current digital interfaces? Clinical trial results?

In 2023, the FDA approved Neuralink’s first clinical trial, called PRIME (Precise Robotically Implanted Brain-Computer Interface), on a patient, a 29-year-old with paralysis. Noland Arbaugh received the surgery and was able to play chess by controlling his cursor using his brain, in contrast to his usual mouth-held tablet stylus digital interface that he had to use whilst sitting upright and with the aid of a caregiver. The biggest difference, says Arbaugh, is comfort: “I can lie in my bed and use [the Link] … Sitting causes stress mentally and on my body which would give me pressure sores or spasms. It lets me live on my own time…”.

One way to measure cursor speed and accuracy is BPS (bits per second). Arbaugh set the world record for human BCI cursor control at 4.6 BPS and later achieved 8.0 BPS.

Although Arbaugh recovered from the surgery quite well, a few weeks later, several threads retracted from his brain, decreasing the already-little number of effective electrodes. To counter this, Neuralink increased electrode sensitivity to be able to catch neural signals better.

Image of surgical bot that implants Neuralink in the brain

Since then, Alex was the second patient to receive a Link implant. This time around, no threads retracted, and Alex was able to play Counter-Strike 2 by controlling targeting and movement at the same time.

Neuralink x AI implements?

There are concerns about Musk’s true ambitions in this project. Artificial intelligence already plays a significant role in running the implant, as machine-learning algorithms are responsible for translating brain signals into commands for the external device. Musk revealed that an ultimate goal for Neuralink is “to achieve a symbiosis with artificial intelligence”. While the product for now is targeted towards patients of paralysis, if integration of the human brain and AI was accessible to the general population, is the internal implant somewhat parasitic in its nature?

Whether this new technology is a step in the right or wrong direction is up for contemplation, but not yet such a pressing issue, as the project is currently still in its early development stages - logistics for government regulation, privacy, accessibility and clinical approval are still far from today.

According to the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, it is estimates that 18,000 people suffer from spinal cord injuries each year in the US alone, and approximately 1.7 of the US population live in some form of paralysis. While Neuralink stands in controversy, there is hope – and evidence - that its technology may someday give full agency back to those who lost it or treat neurological conditions.

------ Works Cited

Capitol Technology University. “Neuralink’s Brain Chip: How It Works and What It Means | Capitol Technology University.” Www.captechu.edu, 9 Feb. 2024, www.captechu.edu/blog/neuralinks-brain-chip-how-it-works-and-what-it-means. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.

Guardian staff reporter. “Neuralink Has Implanted Second Trial Patient with Brain Chip, Elon Musk Says.” The Guardian, The Guardian, 4 Aug. 2024, www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/aug/04/neuralink-elon-musk-second-trial-patient-brain-chip. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.

Mehta, Dvija. “Why Elon Musk’s Neuralink Brain Implant Reframes Our Ideas of Self-Identity.” Www.bbc.com, 17 Apr. 2024, www.bbc.com/future/article/20240416-why-elon-musks-neuralink-brain-implant-reframes-our-ideas-of-self-identity. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.

“Neuralink.” Neuralink.com, 2024, neuralink.com/. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.

Neuralink. “PRIME Study Progress Update — Second Participant.” Neuralink Blog, 21 Aug. 2024, neuralink.com/blog/prime-study-progress-update-second-participant/. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.

Neuralink. (2025). Neuralink — Pioneering Brain Computer Interfaces. Retrieved January 14, 2025, from Neuralink website: https://neuralink.com/

---. “PRIME Study Progress Update — User Experience.” Neuralink Blog, 8 May 2024, neuralink.com/blog/prime-study-progress-update-user-experience/. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.

Powers, AI. “Mount Bonnell.” Mount Bonnell, 9 Nov. 2024, www.mountbonnell.info/neural-nexus/the-role-of-ai-in-neuralinks-technology. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.

Samuel, Sigal. “Elon Musk Wants to Merge Humans with AI. How Many Brains Will Be Damaged along the Way?” Vox, 16 Oct. 2023, www.vox.com/future-perfect/23899981/elon-musk-ai-neuralink-brain-computer-interface. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.

“Spinal Cord Injury Prevalence in the U.S. | Reeve Foundation.” Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, www.christopherreeve.org/todays-care/paralysis-help-overview/stats-about-paralysis/. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.