Alex Conley

Just a dude with a Neuralink trying to navigate this thing called life.

[Katie Pavlich Tonight @KatiePavlichNN]

Audrey Crews, @NeuraNova9, the first woman to receive the Neuralink implant, joins Katie to discuss how the technology has helped her create art with her own mind.

More below ⬇️⬇️

[DJ Seo @djseo]

Sat down with @shaunmmaguire recently to talk through where Neuralink is and where it's going.

A few things that came up:

- over 20 participants now, more than 45,000 hours of BCI use — people controlling computers and speaking again with their thoughts, still hits me every time

- the implant with tiny flexible threads is impressive, but so are the surgical robots, microfab, and assembly lines needed to deliver BCI at scale (arguably harder to build)

- our current focus is restoration of function

- but the brain doesn't think in keystrokes, what we're really after is direct transfer of concepts, no compression, no language bottleneck

- most timelines are just friction people have accepted as normal, and we often ask: if every light were green, how fast could you physically build this?

- the caregivers and families of our participants don't get enough credit — their stories of love, sacrifice, and resilience keep us showing up the way we do

https://t.co/GyTe5XxfiY

[CJ (Neuralink P24) @SCI_Borg24]

Two incredible Neuralink meetings today. One was with Neuralink's Lead BCI Engineer, Sehej. As he has done for the past several meetings, he brought in (with my consent) new Neuralink hires who are helping to improve the user experience from every angle. They don't want random and thoughtless use of the N1, but aim for it to function proactively for as many real-world applications as possible. They are paying for Shirley Ryan Ability Lab, the #1 Spinal Cord Injury hospital in the world, to visit N1 recipients at home to offer the very best Assistive Tech available, to see if the N1 lacks in any way. Neuralink doesn't just want fanboys to say they are awesome because...Elon Musk. They want to create, iterate, improve, and offer the absolute best technology on Planet Earth.

In my pre-accident life, I was a Revit super-user. It is an incredibly complex, advanced CAD software that could design the most complicated buildings in the world. I was the Revit Lead for the construction company I worked for, and it was my job to train engineers and all users. When I went to Craig Hospital for SCI acute rehab, they put me into one of the most advanced Assistive Tech environments in the country. They provided and trained me on the best, very expensive tech in the world...and it fell short. The complexity of maneuvers, shortcuts, commands, and moves one needs to utilize Revit was well beyond the capabilities of the top assistive tech available. Last year, a company that brands themselves the Noninvasive Neuralink heard about me as a Revit expert. They wanted to show that their product can do everything Neuralink can do, but noninvasively.

They built a prototype for me. They flew their Founder and CFO out to spend several days testing it with me. It didn't work. It's amazing tech, but it cannot handle the firepower that advanced CAD requires. Just moments before I went into Neuralink surgery, my surgeon @AmadioMD talked to my wife and me about my hopes and expectations. I told him about Revit. He heard me out, learned quickly its complexities, and assured me he was "very confident" I will be able to use it at full functionality with my N1 implant. Last month, I sent Sehej this demo video I created of a Revit component I had created and offered for sale as a consultant. If you watched @NeuraPod's video, you know I launched my CAD business on the morning of my accident.

Sehej is committed to make Revit work for me, and today solicited feedback on specific commands to integrate into my BCI. Like Dr. Amadio, I am confident N1 will enable the most severely injured members of society, like me, to return to useful work and participation in life. Neuralink doesn't just have the willpower, but they also have the firepower. These are some of the brightest minds I've ever encountered (Sehej, @cchriskeach etc), coupled with amazing patience and humility. Looking forward to creating a solution that includes those of us who have been marginalized for so long. Thank you @elonmusk. If we get it to work, I promise I will upload side-by-side videos, using hands versus using the N1.

The other amazing meeting was Cyborg Get-Together #2, but I will save that for its own post!

[2001 Live @25YearsAgoLive]

All three crewmembers of a South Korean Army Boeing Vertol CH-57D helicopter are killed while installing a sculpture atop the Han River Olympic Bridge in Seoul.

The incident is caught on video and widely circulated on the World Wide Web.

[NSF - NASASpaceflight.com @NASASpaceflight]

The sound of the explosion just arrived at our cams miles away.

[Alex Conley @Bcidesign]

Now I just need one on the other side to control two robotic arms at once.

[Neura Pod – Neuralink @NeuraPod]

Comparing the new Neuralink robot (Rev10) vs the old robot (R1):

[Neuralink @neuralink]

Our goal at Neuralink is to restore abilities that were thought to be lost forever due to injury, accident, or disease.

See how Audrey, who is paralyzed due to spinal cord injury, uses her brain-computer interface to play video games with her mind.

[Martin-Baker @MB_EjectEject]

Yesterday, two Boeing E/A-18G Growlers collided mid-air during an airshow demonstration at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho.

All four pilots successfully ejected using the Martin-Baker US14A (NACES) Ejection Seat.

#EngineeringForLife

[Metav3rse @themetav3rse]

A Neuralink chip was implanted in Noland Arbaugh’s brain, and he broke the world record for BCI cursor control in his very first session.

"I have a chip that was implanted onto my skull, and there are 64 threads with 16 electrodes on each thread, implanted in my motor cortex, and now I can control the computer with my thoughts."

"Video games came first. I just played video games for hours, and it was great."

"Controlling a computer, I think a lot of people take for granted what they're able to do. For me, it became reconnecting with the world in some way, whether that's through social media or texting or emailing."

"I took 22 credit hours. I got a 4.0. I was much more capable than I thought I was."

Follow us @themetav3rse for latest news on emerging technology and internet culture.

[Desiree @DesireeAmerica4]

$67 million per jet… gone in the blink of an eye.
Two Navy EA-18G Growlers smashed mid-air yesterday at Idaho’s

Gunfighter Skies air show.
Four pilots ejected safely and walked away.

But $134 million in taxpayer hardware turned into fireballs on the ground.
They were doing a tight formation demo the kind that looks insane on purpose.

Investigation ongoing… but damn.
How close is “too close” when the price tag is this high?

[Alex Conley @Bcidesign]

@ChuckBaggett @neuralink Second part is in the near future!

[Alex Conley @Bcidesign]

@mariadestrella @neuralink @elonmusk I second that!

[Neuralink @neuralink]

After a car accident left her paralyzed from the neck down, Audrey didn’t think she would be able to draw or paint again.

20 years later, she became the first female participant in our clinical trials. Now, she uses her brain-computer interface to create art with her mind.

[S.E. Robinson, Jr. @SERobinsonJr]

NEURALINK recipient CJ (Curt Johnson, @SCI_Borg24) and his wife have started a campaign to help with their travel expenses needed to use air ambulance transfers to Miami to meet Neuralink trial obligations at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis.

Commercial flights are banned due to CJ's ventilator, they are still paying off previous air ambulance bills from as far back as 2020, and they lost Medicaid funding last month, causing denied prescriptions, terminated PCA services, and a $4,000 bill for respiratory supplies.

The flights are needed for CJ to continue in the trial and to avoid risks by driving.

Help CJ and his wife as much as you can. @elonmusk

https://t.co/awJUmSSRfN

[Elon Musk @elonmusk]

On my way to Beijing in Air Force One

[Alex Conley @Bcidesign]

Those were my neural signals counting down! @neuralink

[Elonogy @ElonogyX]

Elon Musk: "There are really only three hard things for humanoid robots: the real-world intelligence, the hand, and scale manufacturing.
And I haven't seen any even demo robots that have a great hand, But Optimus does have that.

We had to design custom actuators, basically custom-designed motors, gears, power electronics, controls, sensors—everything had to be designed from physics first principles. There is no supply chain for this.”

[Neura Pod – Neuralink @NeuraPod]

The 23rd Neuralink patient (@LeBrainJames023) created this video game all just by using his Neuralink implant!

It's incredible what the humanbrainxAI can do.

[Senator Ted Cruz @SenTedCruz]

Great to tour and visit with the minds and leaders behind @neuralink in Austin.

Neuralink’s next generation technology is transforming lives, and we’re proud to have them in Texas.

[MrMuntis 🕵️‍♂️ @MrMuntis]

@elonmusk

[Alex Conley @Bcidesign]

@MrMuntis @elonmusk Crazy right!