The first nonverbal Neuralink patient to receive the chip implant is offering a glimpse into how he uses the technology — editing and narrating a YouTube video using signals from his brain.
Brad Smith is the third person in the world to get a brain chip implant with Elon Musk’s Neuralink, and the first person with ALS to do so.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that primarily affects motor neurons — the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord responsible for controlling voluntary muscle movement. Over time, patients lose voluntary control of muscle movements, affecting their ability to speak, eat, move, and breathe independently.
Smith posted a video on YouTube last week showing how he uses his brain implant in day-to-day life.
He explained how the brain-computer interface (BCI) lets him use brain signals to control the mouse on his MacBook Pro to edit the video, which he said is the first edited with Neuralink or a BCI.
The implant, placed in his motor cortex, is roughly the size of five stacked quarters and contains more than 1,000 electrodes. Smith said that Neuralink doesn’t read a constant stream of his thoughts but rather interprets brain signals indicating how and where he wants to move the cursor. While he initially tried imagining moving his hand to control the cursor, it ultimately proved more effective for him to think about moving his tongue and clenching his jaw to control the cursor and virtually click the mouse.
AI was also used on recordings of Smith from before he lost his ability to speak to create a synthetic version of his voice, allowing him to effectively narrate the video in his own voice.
In a separate video from reporter and Musk biographer Ashlee Vance, Musk phoned Smith during a visit from Neuralink’s team to Smith’s home.
“I hope this is a game changer for you and your family,” Musk said.
“I’m excited to get this in my head and stop using eye-gaze,” Smith said through his computer. Smith said in his video last week that he’d been using eye-gaze technology to communicate, but that the technology was limited to dark rooms. Neuralink’s implant, he said, lets him communicate outdoors and in varying lighting.
The Neuralink implant also allows Smith to play video games with his kids, with footage showing him playing “Mario Kart.”
“It took years to get here, and I still break down and cry,” Smith told Vance for his Substack publication Core Memory. “It is really nice to have a purpose greater than me. I am really excited to serve others in the future with this work.”
BI has reached out to Smith for additional comment.
Neuralink, which was previously tested on monkeys, implanted its device in a human for the first time in January 2024. Noland Arbaugh, a quadriplegic who became the company’s first human patient, previously told BI the implant has helped him regain independence and control in his life and make new social connections.
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