Neuralink’s implant is the size of five stacked coins and was placed in the patient's brain through surgery. Reuters
Neuralink’s implant is the size of five stacked coins and was placed in the patient's brain through surgery. Reuters
Neuralink’s implant is the size of five stacked coins and was placed in the patient's brain through surgery. Reuters
Neuralink’s implant is the size of five stacked coins and was placed in the patient's brain through surgery. Reuters

Footage shows Neuralink brain chip patient playing video games with mind


Cody Combs
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The first human to have a Neuralink brain chip implant is now able to move a computer cursor and play chess and other video games on a computer using his brain, the company said.

Elon Musk’s Neuralink streamed a live video on X showing Noland Arbaugh, a 29-year-old quadriplegic, explaining how his life has changed since having the chip implanted in January.

“It’s all being done with my brain. You see the cursor moving around the screen? That’s all me,” he said. “I love playing chess, this is one of the things you all have enabled me to do, something that I wasn’t able to do much the last few years, especially not like this. I had to use a mouth stick before.”

During the video, Mr Arbaugh explained he was paralysed about eight years ago in a diving accident. “I dislocated my C4 and C5,” he said. “I have no sensation or movement below my shoulders.”

Neuralink’s implant is the size of five stacked coins and was placed in Mr Arbaugh's brain through surgery, the company said.

“It’s like I’m using 'the force' with the cursor,” Mr Arbaugh said on the video, referencing the Star Wars franchise. “I’m so lucky to be part of this.”

The video of Mr Arbaugh has been viewed at least eight million and has quickly become a trending topic on X, also owned by Mr Musk.

The excitement surrounding the video comes less than two months after Mr Musk announced that Neuralink had installed a brain implant in a human for the first time.

The Neuralink disk implant held by Elon Musk during a presentation in 2020. AFP
The Neuralink disk implant held by Elon Musk during a presentation in 2020. AFP

Neuralink was founded in 2016, and while the video is generating excitement in medical and technology circles, the company is not alone in the assistive technology space.

Australia-based Synchron has similar technology that it says was implanted in patients in 2022. Unlike Neuralink, Synchron's technology is considered to be less invasive, and does not require cutting into the skull.

Neuralink has not been without criticism. It has been under investigation for alleged animal abuse during device testing. The company said it won approval last year from US regulators to test brain implants in humans.

Neuralink is based in California and has between 200 and 500 employees, its LinkedIn profile says.

Keep it fun and engaging

Stuart Ritchie, director of wealth advice at AES International, says children cannot learn something overnight, so it helps to have a fun routine that keeps them engaged and interested.

“I explain to my daughter that the money I draw from an ATM or the money on my bank card doesn’t just magically appear – it’s money I have earned from my job. I show her how this works by giving her little chores around the house so she can earn pocket money,” says Mr Ritchie.

His daughter is allowed to spend half of her pocket money, while the other half goes into a bank account. When this money hits a certain milestone, Mr Ritchie rewards his daughter with a small lump sum.

He also recommends books that teach the importance of money management for children, such as The Squirrel Manifesto by Ric Edelman and Jean Edelman.

The specs

Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)

WTL%20SCHEDULE
%3Cp%3EDECEMBER%2019%20(6pm)%0D%3Cbr%3EKites%20v%20Eagles%0D%3Cbr%3EAliassime%20v%20Kyrgios%0D%3Cbr%3ESwiatek%20v%20Garcia%0D%3Cbr%3EEntertainment%3A%20Tiesto%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDECEMBER%2020%20(6pm)%0D%3Cbr%3EFalcons%20v%20Hawks%0D%3Cbr%3EDjokovic%20v%20Zverev%0D%3Cbr%3ESabalenka%20v%20Rybakina%0D%3Cbr%3EEntertainment%3A%20Wizkid%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EDECEMBER%2021%20(6pm)%0D%3Cbr%3EFalcons%20v%20Eagles%0D%3Cbr%3EDjokovic%20v%20Kyrgios%0D%3Cbr%3EBadosa%20v%20Garcia%0D%3Cbr%3EEntertainment%3A%20Ne-Yo%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EDECEMBER%2022%20(6pm)%0D%3Cbr%3EHawks%20v%20Kites%0D%3Cbr%3EThiem%20v%20Aliassime%0D%3Cbr%3EKontaveit%20v%20Swiatek%0D%3Cbr%3EEntertainment%3A%20deadmau5%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EDECEMBER%2023%20(2pm)%0D%3Cbr%3EEagles%20v%20Hawks%0D%3Cbr%3EKyrgios%20v%20Zverev%0D%3Cbr%3EGarcia%20v%20Rybakina%0D%3Cbr%3EEntertainment%3A%20Mohammed%20Ramadan%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EDECEMBER%2023%20(6pm)%0D%3Cbr%3EFalcons%20v%20Kites%0D%3Cbr%3EDjokovic%20v%20Aliassime%0D%3Cbr%3ESabalenka%20v%20Swiatek%0D%3Cbr%3EEntertainment%3A%20Mohammed%20Ramadan%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EDECEMBER%2024%20(6pm)%0D%3Cbr%3EFinals%0D%3Cbr%3EEntertainment%3A%20Armin%20Van%20Buuren%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Results

5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 (Turf) 1,400m. Winner: Al Ajeeb W’Rsan, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Jaci Wickham (trainer).

5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 (T) 1,400m racing. Winner: Mujeeb, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel.

6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 90,000 (T) 2,200m. Winner: Onward, Connor Beasley, Abdallah Al Hammadi.

6.30pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown Prep Rated Conditions (PA) Dh 125,000 (T) 2,200m. Winner: Somoud, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle.

7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 (T) 1,600m. Winner: AF Arrab, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.

7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 90,000 (T) 1,400m. Winner: Irish Freedom, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.

THE CLOWN OF GAZA

Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah 

Starring: Alaa Meqdad

Rating: 4/5

The specs: 2017 Porsche 718 Cayman

Price, base / as tested Dh222,500 / Dh296,870

Engine 2.0L, flat four-cylinder

Transmission Seven-speed PDK

Power 300hp @ 6,500rpm

Torque 380hp @ 1,950rpm

Fuel economy, combined 6.9L / 100km

Trump v Khan

2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US

2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks

2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit

2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”

2022:  Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency

July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”

Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.

Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”

Updated: March 21, 2024, 8:31 AM