First Neuralink Patient Shows Off Jedi Mind Tricks While Playing Chess And Gaming On PC

Neuralink’s first patient showed off his Jedi mind tricks on Elon Musk’s X platform via a livestream. During the livestream, 29-year-old Nolan Arbaugh said he has been able to play chess and Civilization VI thanks to the Neuralink brain implant.

Arbaugh was chosen as the first human trial patient to receive a brain-computer-interface from Neuralink, which he received in January. Elon Musk shared an update via a Spaces event a month later, remarking the patient was in “good condition,” and he was suffering “no ill effects.” At that time, Neuralink was keeping the patient’s name confidential, but now the cat’s out of the bag.

During the livestream, Arbaugh explained his condition, remarking, “About 8 years ago I was in kind of a freak diving accident, and dislocated my C4 and C5. So, I am a complete quadriplegic. I am paralyzed from below the shoulders. I have no sensation or movement below my level of injury. So, below my shoulders. Yeah, that about covers it."

After explaining, Bliss, an engineer at Neuralink, asked Arbaugh if he could mute the music that was blasting in the background. Arbaugh obliged the request, pausing the music using his mind.

Arbaugh explained the process he has been working through as “kind of like differentiating, like imagined movement versus attempted movement.” He remarked he started out trying to move his body, by telling his body to move in different ways. From there, Arbaugh said it “became intuitive” for him to begin imagining the cursor moving. He said the experience was “like using the force on a cursor, and I could do it to move (the mouse pointer) wherever I wanted.”


Perhaps the most exciting part of what the Neuralink brain implant has been able to provide Arbaugh is the ability to play games once again. During the livestream, Arbaugh was competing against another player in chess, one of the games he enjoys playing. He also remarked that he stayed up till 6am one morning playing Civilization VI, a game he had given up on before receiving the implant. He also added he has been using the new Jedi mind tricks to read and learn French.

Musk replied to the livestream post by Neuralink, remarking, "Long-term, it is possible to shunt the signals from the brain motor cortex past the damaged part of the spine to enable people to walk again and use their arms normally."

The biggest restriction, according to Arbaugh, is having to wait for the implant to charge after playing games for 8 hours. He also said he is looking forward to Halloween this year, and plans on dressing up as Professor X of X-Men. Arbaugh remarked, “It’s going to be cool. It’s going to be real cool.”

Nolan Arbaugh recognizes the Neuralink brain implant technology still needs “a lot of work,” but it has already changed his life. He noted he chose to be a part of the study in the hope of being part of something that would change the world. It is safe to say, many in his position are grateful for his courage in doing so.