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Elon Musk's brain-implant firm Neuralink did its first tests in 2024

Neuralink’s first two human trials grabbed headlines this year, but it still isn’t clear how the firm’s technology compares with other brain-computer interfaces

By Matthew Sparkes

11 December 2024

Noland Arbaugh by John Francis Peters, 2024

Noland Arbaugh was the first person to receive a Neuralink brain implant

John Francis Peters

Elon Musk’s brain-computer interface (BCI) company Neuralink grabbed headlines this year with the announcement of its first human trial in January, followed by its second in August. The firm aims to mass-produce a tiny, implantable chip that will initially allow people with paralysis to control computers with their mind, before a wider rollout for anyone who might want it.

The company’s first subject, Noland Arbaugh, said that the device was “like using the Force [from Star Wars] on the cursor”. He had a coin-sized…

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