this post was submitted on 10 May 2024
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399
First human brain implant malfunctioned, Neuralink says (thehill.com)
submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
150 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

The first Neuralink implant in a human malfunctioned after several threads recording neural activity retracted from the brain, the Elon Musk-owned startup revealed Wednesday.

The threads retracted in the weeks following the surgery in late January that placed the Neuralink hardware in 29-year-old Noland Arbaugh’s brain, the company said in a blog post.

This reduced the number of effective electrodes and the ability of Arbaugh, a quadriplegic, to control a computer cursor with his brain.

“In response to this change, we modified the recording algorithm to be more sensitive to neural population signals, improved the techniques to translate these signals into cursor movements, and enhanced the user interface,” Neuralink said in the blog post.

The company said the adjustments resulted in a “rapid and sustained improvement” in bits-per-second, a measure of speed and accuracy of cursor control, surpassing Arbaugh’s initial performance.

While the problem doesn’t appear to pose a risk to Arbaugh’s safety, Neuralink reportedly floated the idea of removing his implant, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The company has also told the Food and Drug Administration that it believes it has a solution for the issue that occurred with Arbaugh’s implant, the Journal reported.

The implant was placed just more than 100 days ago. In the blog post, the company touted Arbaugh’s ability to play online computer games, browse the internet, livestream and use other applications “all by controlling a cursor with his mind.”

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[–] [email protected] 157 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (9 children)

When did they work? Prior to getting approved in humans they were killing animals at a high rate. To the point where animals were smashing their heads against shit to get the chip out.

Additional veterinary reports show the condition of a female monkey called “Animal 15” during the months leading up to her death in March 2019. Days after her implant surgery, she began to press her head against the floor for no apparent reason; a symptom of pain or infection, the records say. Staff observed that though she was uncomfortable, picking and pulling at her implant until it bled, she would often lie at the foot of her cage and spend time holding hands with her roommate.

I understand testing on animals is tough but this was straight cruelty.

https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-pcrm-neuralink-monkey-deaths/

[–] [email protected] 34 points 5 months ago (2 children)

It was working for a while for the guy. He was paralyzed from the neck down and he was able to use it to play some lame game like LoL or something.

[–] [email protected] 54 points 5 months ago (4 children)

Yeah I seen a money kinda play pong on it. It was cool and all but not ripping at your skull cool.

It sucks bc there are real companies developing the tech for an amazing cause. Elon is a dip shit that has no clue on how to run a company and he is actually hurting the research.

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[–] [email protected] -5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

"DAddy mUsk laav mme uskahdkadvbgbdg" said the first Neuralink volunteer, Mr. Guinny A. Peeg.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

This is the most Omni Consumer Products situation.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

It’s the first attempt. Failure is gonna happen. This isn’t big news. If they were rolling it out to market that would be different.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago (7 children)

damn, imagine we did any other medical research with that attitude!

[–] [email protected] 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

What attitude you think people take with other medical research

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[–] [email protected] 45 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Sure failure is gonna happen but neuralink hasn't been particularly successful with all the primates that have been tested with for previous version either.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago

This is an article saying it failed in a primate too!

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 5 months ago (2 children)

This is more than enough to turn me off from the idea of neural anything in the brains of humans. Especially if it's all being ran by a fledgling sycophant like Musk.

Even if it's not drastic, I don't want to know what the worst case scenario would've been.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Idk... I don't like Elon, but this is actually incredibly huge overall. he controlled a computer with his mind. That's amazing for people who could benefit from it. I think it's worth continuing down this path, just to see how it evolves. I'm sure the man knew the risks and still chose to do it, meaning it was worth it to him.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 5 months ago (1 children)

This isn't something new to nueralink. Brain-machine interfaces have existed for quite some time. Neuralink is one of a number of companies that are exploring directly implanting these devices rather than using an externally attached (hence, easily removable) interface, but the core thesis of "Brain control computer" isn't any kind of grand leap forward. That's just Musk's marketing.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 5 months ago

Especially if the extent of it is that it lets you move a mouse. How does that offer any improvement over eye tracking adaptive tech?

[–] [email protected] 0 points 5 months ago (4 children)

Hate Elon or love him, this is pretty cool honestly. I hope it succeeds.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago (4 children)

Nah this is a pretty dumb idea that is going to go poorly. It's just techobros wishing we lived in a science fiction novel.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Everything's "techbros living in a sci-fi novel", until one day it isn't.

I'm only 42 and I have seen very incredible advancements made in my lifetime that I never thought would be reality as a child. Handheld mobile communications devices that allow you to talk and share media instantly with anyone on the planet, for instance. That's some literal Star Trek shit. Or the fact we now have the equivalent computing power of all the world's supercomputers in the 80s put together on our desks. Or RNA vaccines, instead of using dead or dying viruses, we can now reprogram the body to make whatever antibodies it needs.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Maybe someday, but that's not the point of the tech as it stands. It's accessibility.

They guy who it failed in (Noland Arbaugh) is a full on quadriplegic. The ability to use a computer in a semi-normal way is absolutely beyond life changing for him.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

But those options were available to him without a risky brain implant. There's a large amount of alternative interface methods and tools available for these purposes, they just don't have Musk's marketing budget and they aren't run by someone that owns a newspaper, so they're not well known outside the disabled community.

We've had wearable (and thus removable and non invasive) neural interfaces for years now that have been able to do mouse control.

We've had robust eye tracker control since Steven fucking Hawking.

This is being framed as though this was the only way for this person to have these abilities and options available, and that is patently false.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago

How dare you state anything but "I hate Elon and he's a POS and everything he does is bad". Elon is a garbage human being and I dislike him just as much as the other person, but I'm still going to give credit when it's due. This is a fucking cool idea and will help a lot of people.

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Elon is just the face and money man.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago

Understand that, and kudos to all the great minds who made this thing a reality.

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