Mr. Smith Gets a Neuralink Brain Implant [video]

> Brad communicated to me through a device called the Tobii made by Dynavox, a company that specializes in computing systems for people with illnesses and disabilities. It used infrared eye-tracking technology to follow Brad’s gaze and help him select letters, phrases, software and internet services on a computer screen affixed to his bed or a motorized chair. Brad would stare at a spot on the screen for a couple of seconds, and the letter or word he’d highlighted would be selected, and then he’d head on to the next letter or word. It was a slow process that only made it possible to eke out words, and they arrived via a robotic-sounding computer voice. “I used to type 100 words per minute,” Brad said. “Now I am lucky to get five.”

> The eye-tracking technology he relied on did not work well in bright light either indoors or outdoors.

> Communicating with the Tobii went so slowly that Brad could not have a typical back and forth conversation. People would ask him a question and then wait and wait and wait for his reply.

> If Brad needed his ventilator tube cleared, he’d stare at the “cough” button on the Tobii, and it would bark out, “I NEED TO COUGH!,” in the funny voice, and one of the boys would run over and fix the tube and then head right back to playing.

> Brad had been reluctant to leave the house because he could not talk to people or use his device to read or peruse the internet when outside or any place with normal lighting. More pressing, he couldn’t tell Tiffany when he was thirsty, needed help with his respirator or needed to use the bathroom.

> “I want to move my cursor without looking at it constantly,” Brad said. “I want to click and drag. I want to scroll and read at the same time. Do you know how hard those simple things are with eye gaze? I hope you never have to find out. And, if Neuralink succeeds, maybe nobody will have to learn that again.”