Third Neuralink brain implant patient able to communicate despite

The third human to receive a Neuralink brain implant, who also has non-verbal ALS, is now able to speak in his own voice thanks to the advancing technology combined with Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Brad Smith said in a video on X that even though having the disease “sucks,” he is happy, and God has answered his prayers and “life is good.” He also talked about his journey with ALS and the hope he was given after becoming the third human to receive a Neuralink brain transplant.

Neuralink, which was started by billionaire Elon Musk, said in a blog post in January that there are three people with Telepathy, including “Brad.”

“All three individuals are unable to move their arms and legs – Noland and Alex due to spinal cord injury (SCI) and Brad due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS),” the post read. “They each volunteered to participate in Neuralink’s PRIME Study, a clinical trial to demonstrate that the Link is safe and useful in the daily lives of people living with paralysis.”

FIRST NEURALINK PATIENT PLAYS CHESS WITH BRAIN CHIP IMPLANT IN NEW VIDEO

Smith is unable to speak or move any part of his body, besides the corners of his mouth and eyes.

In the video he shared on X, Smith said he relies on the Neuralink implant for all communication, adding he made the video using the Brain Computer Interface (BCI) to control the mouse on his MacBook Pro.
The voice in the video is his own, and it was cloned using AI from recordings, before he lost his voice.

While explaining how Neuralink has impacted his life, Smith gave an overview of how the technology works, but he also talked about how he ended up in his current status.

“I have ALS, a really weird disease that kills the motor neurons that control my muscles, but not affecting my mind,” he said. “My experience has been pretty interesting, starting with a shoulder injury that would not heal and ending up with my current status. I cannot move anything but my eyes and I’m totally reliant on a ventilator to keep me alive and breathing.”

FIRST NEURALINK PATIENT ABLE TO CONTROL MOUSE WITH THOUGHTS: ELON MUSK

Brad Smith, who has non-verbal ALS, said he is able to speak by typing on his computer using his brain thanks to the Neuralink brain implant.  (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Before receiving the implant, Smith said he had to use an eye gaze control computer for all communication. But it worked best in dark rooms, and he said he was basically Batman, as he was stuck in a dark room.

“Neuralink lets me go outside and ignore lighting changes,” he said. “The implant is in my motor cortex, which is the part of my brain that controls body movement.”

An image of the implant showed a device about the size of five U.S. quarters stacked.

Smith said it replaced a hole in his skull, and the threads were placed…