The first person to receive a Neuralink brain implant has apparently recovered and can now control a computer mouse using their thoughts, according to Elon Musk, the company’s cofounder. “Progress is good and the patient seems to have made a full recovery, with no ill effects that we are aware of,” Musk said on February 19 in a Spaces audio conversation on X, in response to a question about the participant’s condition. “ patient is able to move a mouse around the screen just by thinking.
Neuralink hasn’t exactly been operating in secrecy—it has livestreamed demonstrations of its technology over the years and published a white paper in 2019—but some researchers say the company hasn’t been the most transparent about its research either. Given reports, including by WIRED, that Neuralink’s brain implant may have caused problems in monkeys, bioethicist Arthur Caplan of New York University says the company should be more forthcoming about its research.