Elon Musk’s Neuralink brain chip can be hacked? Here’s what the first human patient has to say

Nueuralink is currently running its first ever human trial of its brain chip on a 29-year-old man, Nolan Arbaugh. The Elon Musk-owned company aims to create a bridge between the human brain and computers with its chip. But does that mean it is susceptible to hacking? To this, Arbaugh told Joe Rogan on his podcast that yes, it can be hacked.

He stated, “At this point at least, hacking the brain chip wouldn't really do much. You might be able to see some of the brain signals and the data that Neuralink is collecting, and then you might be able to control my cursor on my screen and make me look at weird stuff. But that's about it. I guess you could go in and look through my messages, email, and more.” He added that he has to be connected to the computer if someone wants to hack the chip. They can’t get in on their own.

Despite the potential for misuse, Arbaugh is more focused on the transformative potential of Neuralink and less on the hypothetical risks of hacking.

Due to a spinal cord injury, Arbaugh was left paralyzed. The brain chip has helped him regain control and interact with digital devices using his thoughts since the transplant in January 2024. For instance, he's been able to play games like online chess through brain signals.

He revealed that he dislocated his C4 and C5 vertebrae while he was swimming in a lake. The doctors told him that the vertebrae kind of popped out for a moment and then went back into place. However, he became paralyzed from the shoulders down. He said, “I can't feel anything and have very limited movement. I can wiggle my hand a little, but not enough to do anything like control a joystick.”

The experiment did face a hiccup a couple of months back. Notably, the company’s system, called the Link, records neural signals using 1,024 electrodes across 64 “threads” that are thinner than a human hair.  Some of the electrode-studded threads that sit in the brain tissue began to retract from that tissue. To this, Arbaugh explained that this happened because the brain's pulsations, much more pronounced than initially believed, led to early challenges with the implant's threads retracting, affecting signal clarity. Nevertheless, Neuralink’s ongoing adjustments on the software side have improved system performance significantly.