Elon Musk says Neuralink brain chip could help paralyzed people 'walk again'

Elon Musk might be best known for helming social media platform X and Tesla, but his brain implant company Neuralink has also been going gangbusters this year.

Fresh off a new video showing the first-ever human recipient of a Neuralink brain implant this week, Musk has been thinking about the future.

In a post replying to that Neuralink video, Musk played up the possibilities, writing: "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."

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

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 21, 2024

That's a big idea, even if it's not a hard and fast promise as much as a statement about one possible implementation of the chip down the line.

Still, the idea that a Neuralink implant could be the difference between paralysis and full movement has unsurprisingly impressed people.

Under Musk's post, one person wrote: "What a beautiful future that will be," while another user used it as a prompt to wonder what other conditions the implants could help with: "Any plans to help things like dementia?"

That's a great question, too - if the possibilities are open to what Neuralink could help with, it'll be interesting to see what it is aimed at over the coming years.

One user went truly out of the box with their response, though, saying: "Imagine someone controlling an Optimus with their Neuralink," in reference to Tesla's humanoid robots.

This clearly took Musk's fancy, as he replied, in turn, to agree that "Optimus limbs, replacing lost human limbs, could ultimately be controlled with superhuman dexterity by an implanted Neuralink".

This all comes hot on the tail of Neuralink uploading a video showcasing its first human implant recipient, who uses the implant to control a chess game with his mind.

The recipient is Noland Arbaugh, a 29-year-old who had a diving accident eight years ago that left him quadriplegic, paralyzed from the shoulders down.

Arbaugh hasn't just been playing chess, though - the chip has apparently let him play the strategy game Civilization VI for long binges, something we should all have access to when we need to switch off.

Neuralink looks like it's going to play a bigger role in the years to come, so it'll be interesting to observe just how it grows, and how many people end up using it.