The First In-Human Clinical Trial of Neuralink: A Brain-Computer Interface for Robotics and Artificial Intelligence

Neuralink is one of several companies that is developing a brain-Computer interface, or BCI, which is a system that collects brain signals and converts them to commands to control external devices. In May, the company said on X, formerly Twitter, that it had received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to conduct its first in-human clinical study, but it didn’t provide further details at the time.

To be clear: this is not the all-encompassing brain computer Musk has been talking about for years. The system Neuralink wants to test is far away from Musk’s dream of using telepathy and Neuralink to help humans keep up with artificial intelligence.

Researchers have been working on implants that will allow people with paralysis to control computers. Two recently published studies, for instance, showed brain-to-computer interfaces could help patients with ALS communicate by typing on a computer.

Neuralink did not specify where the trial will take place, and company representatives did not immediately respond to WIRED’s emailed request for an interview.

Neuralink says its implant isn’t visible when implanted. The neural activity is recorded with 1,024 electrical wires distributed across 64 threads.

The implant will be placed into the brain of the robot to control movement intention. Once in place, the implant is designed to record and transmit brain signals wirelessly to an app that decodes movement intention.

The company has not revealed the exact region of the brain its device will be embedded in, which hospital has given the institutional review board approval, nor how many participants it will ultimately enroll in the study.

At a Neuralink show in November last year, Musk talked about two possible use cases for the implant, one of which was to help people with paralysis control tech devices. There was no mention of a vision replacement in today’s release.