Is called Bradford Smith the third human being to receive a brain system Neuralink and the first affection by SLA (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), he would have managed to Edit and publish a video on YouTube using a computer controlled exclusively with your thoughts. Not only that: thanks to artificial intelligence, the ability to communicate verbally, a function that had lost due to the disease, has in some ways. This milestone shows the potential of implantable neural devices to return autonomy to those who have lost their motor or communication skills.
The story of Bradford Smith
Bradford Smith is suffering from a severe neurodegenerative disease, the ALSwhich gradually damages the neurons responsible for the control of the muscles, leading to the paralysis and the loss of the ability to speak. Has become the Third patient in the world to receive a brain-computer interface developed by Neuralinkthe company founded by Elon Muskwhich works on implantable systems capable of reading brain signals and converting them into controls for digital devices.
The device implanted in the Smith skull has the size of a small cylindrical pile and contains dozens of very thin threads equipped with electrodes. These threads, inserted in the brain tissue by a surgical robot, avoid millimeter vases with millimeter precision, reducing the risk of damage during the intervention. The plant connects away Bluetooth to a MacBook Prowhich interprets the electric activity of the brain and translates it into digital actions.
The chip is positioned in the motor cortexthe brain area responsible for planning movements. This means that, for now, the system is able to read the signals relating to intentional movements, but not thoughts or words in an abstract sense. At the beginning, Smith tried to imagine the movements of the hands to move the cursor to the screen, but without success. After careful work with the engineers team, it was discovered that mentally simulating the movement of the language produced more stable and interpretable signals. Today, Smith moves the mouse cursor with such a fluidity that it seems completely natural, as if it used a physical peripheral.
But the most extraordinary aspect of his experience concerns the voice. Using old audio and video recordings preceding the diagnosis of ALS, the developers trained an artificial intelligence model for reconstruct Smith’s original voice. This vocal synthesis system based on AI today allows Bradford to “speak” again, lending his artificial voice to the videos that he himself creates and mentally modifies through the interface BCI (Brain-Computer Interface). The result is a digital content completely self -produced by a person who, without these tools, would have no way of expressing himself.
The progress of the other two Neuralink patients
Progress in the brain-computer interface sector are quickly accelerating. The first Neuralink patient, Noland Arbaughimplanted a February 2024he had learned in a few weeks to check a cursor with thought, until he was able to play chess and video game Civilization VI. The second patient, Alex (the surname is still unknown at the moment), paralyzed due to a spinal injury, it has exceeded expectations within a single month: it has designed an accessory for recharging the system using modeling software Cad (Computer-Aided Design) and even played online a Counter-Strike 2 with some friends.
