Hackers could siphon data from a Neuralink computer chip embedded in someone’s brain, the first patient to receive the cutting-edge medical device has admitted.
Noland Arbaugh, a 29-year-old patient paralyzed below the shoulder after a diving accident, discussed the threat of hackers in a candid podcast interview with Joe Rogan.
Asked whether cyber attackers 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, Mr. Arbaugh said: “The short answer is yes.”
“At this point, at least hacking, [the Neuralink interface] it wouldn’t really do much,” he added. “Maybe you could see some of the brain signals, you could see some of the data that Link is collecting, and then you could control my cursor on my screen and make me look at weird things — but that’s so everything.”
SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk poured millions into medical startup Neuralink
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SpaceX co-founder Elon Musk confirmed that the operation was successful revealed that the patient was able to control a computer mouse with his thoughts by the end of February.
“The surgery was super easy,” Mr. Arbaugh told viewers in a live video streamed on Elon Musk’s social media platform X, formerly Twitter, a month later. “I was literally released from the hospital a day later. I have no cognitive impairment.”
Mr. Arbaugh uses a Neuralink chip in his head to move a cursor on the screen with his thoughts. The chip, inserted by the robot during the procedure, which required only local anesthetic, has 1,024 electrodes that monitor brain activity in the area that controls movement intention.
Once he recovered from the surgery, Neuralink programmers worked with Mr. Arbaugh to move the cursor on the screen by thinking of the hand movement. He explained: “The signal is already being sent before you move your hand, your mind is saying ‘OK, it’s going to move your hand’, so the signal has to be sent all the way down and back in order for you to move. your hand
“So the speed with which it’s all happening is almost a little bit preemptive.
Asked by Joe Rogan what he used the brain chip for, Mr Arbaugh explained: “I used it to message people on X, use Instagram, answer emails, play fantasy sports, read comic books online and access the site , which 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 that monitor his brain activity have disconnected within weeks of the surgery, so the Neuralink chip is no longer working at full capacity. It is not clear what can be done to restore the missing function. He explained: “They’re going to have to test whether the surgery to replace Neuralink is safe at some point… so they’re going to have to do it on people who already have it.
“I imagine this kind of study could be something I would be involved in.
Neuralink 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 launched back in 2016, won approval to recruit people for a trial in September 2023. At the time, the California-based company said it was looking for volunteers aged 22 or older with quadriplegia caused by cervical spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Live on X this week marks the first time we’ve learned the volunteer’s identity.
Not everyone was shocked by Neuralink’s revelation about its first human trials.
Kip Ludwig, former program director for neural engineering at the US National Institutes of Health, blasted the advances detailed by Neuralink, saying that nothing we’ve seen so far has been “breakthrough.”
“It’s still in the very early days post-implant, 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 positive for the patient that they were able to interact with the 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 revealed the implant contains 1024 electrodes that record neurological activity and transmit data wirelessly to a connected app. It uses an algorithm to convert brain waves into computer controls.
The original goal was to allow someone to control a mouse pointer on a screen or type on a keyboard with their thoughts — something the startup now appears to have come close to achieving.
A glossy promotional image of the types of brain chips being developed by Neuralink
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The first human test, known as PRIME (Precise Robotically Implanted Brain-Computer Interface), will run for a total of 18 months. The researchers will allow the patient to return home with regular check-ups at the clinic. The initial trial period will be followed by a five-year follow-up involving 20 clinic visits.
Neuralink says its initial clinical trial will take about six years to complete. If you want to get your name on the list, here you can register your details with a futuristic startup company. Or you can read the brochure on brain chip trials here.
Musk says the technology being tested by Neuralink has huge implications for the company. According to the 52-year-old multi-billionaire, surgically inserting these chips could be used to treat conditions such as obesity, autism, depression and schizophrenia.
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It could also enable people with physical disabilities to use computers with their thoughts.
Neuralink, which was valued at $5 billion last year, has faced repeated calls to review its security protocols. Reuters reported last month that the company had been fined for violating US Department of Transportation rules regarding the movement of hazardous materials.