--- title: "Doctors Concerned About Neuralink’s First Patient" description: "A big red flag, according to researchers, is that Neuralink has barely been sharing any information at all." date: "2024-02-24" modified: "2024-02-24" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/doctors-concerned-neuralink-patient" categories: - "Brain" - "Health & Medicine" - "Neuroscience and Brain" tags: - "brain computer interfaces" - "brain implants" - "neuralink" --- # Doctors Concerned About Neuralink’s First Patient ![A big red flag, according to researchers, is that Neuralink has barely been sharing any information at all.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* Neuralink founder Elon Musk claimed this week that the first human to receive one of his company's heavily scrutinized brain implants was already able to [control a mouse cursor with their mind](). The only problem? Since then, Neuralink hasn't shared any evidence supporting that claim — and medical researchers are starting to call its bluff. As shared in a [new writeup for *Nature*](), not only is this is hardly a new innovation, but we're not getting enough information from Neuralink to verify its claims, or more distressingly, to assess the safety of its practices. "\[Neuralink is\] only sharing the bits that they want us to know about," Sameer Sheth, a neurosurgeon who specializes in implanted neurotechnology at the Baylor College of Medicine, told *Nature*. "There's a lot of concern in the community about that." Musk [claimed]() **o**n X-formerly-Twitter last month that the human patient who received the brain implant was "recovering well." But as anyone who's been following Neuralink can tell you, there's good reason to be worried about what's happening behind the scenes. Overshadowing the company's purported achievements are grisly revelations made about [its treatment of monkeys](). Leaked documents detailed how the implants resulted in a myriad of [grotesque injuries](), including [rupturing a monkey's brain]() and causing severe cerebral swelling. In many cases, the monkeys spent the final days of their life in needless agony that experts say could've been prevented. Echoing those safety concerns, Sheth told *Nature* that researchers are still in the dark on the capabilities of Neuralink's robotic surgeon. So far, he notes, we've only seen footage of it "operating" [on a dummy](), which was over a year ago. In fact, it still hasn't been confirmed if the robotic surgeon was used on the human patient. A relevant detail that raises questions about Neuralink's surgical capabilities is another report of a monkey with a botched brain implant. According to an autopsy, the monkey had to be euthanized after the device became so loose that the screws attaching it to the skull "could easily be lifted out." Those tests happened several years ago, so for the patient's sake we can hope that Neuralink has gotten safer with its practices since then. Based on the scant details so far, though**,** it's also not clear that Neuralink has accomplished anything groundbreaking. "A human controlling a cursor is nothing new," Bolu Ajiboye, a brain computer interface researcher at Case Western Reserve University, told *Nature*. He notes that the first human to control a cursor with a brain implant was in 2004, and that tests have demonstrated this in monkeys for even longer. Meanwhile, other brain implant projects have allowed fully paralyzed patients to [communicate through a digital avatar using only their mind](), or to [control life-changing robotic prosthetics](). Still, Ajiboye isn't ready to count Neuralink out yet. "The more companies involved in human BCIs," he told *Nature,* "the better to push the field forward." **More on Neuralink*:*** *[Lawmakers Demand Investigation Into Carnage at Neuralink]()* ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()