Why Noland Arbaugh Volunteered For The First Ever Neuralink Brain Implant

I had the privilege of recently meeting Noland Arbaugh, the first person in the world to receive Neuralink’s experimental brain-chip implant.

When I first read about him taking this massive step, bravely volunteering for a technology that no one had tried yet, I was convinced that I wanted to go beyond the media hype and hear his side of the story.

“I knew all along that I was going to have the worst version of this [brain-chip implant] that was ever going to be in someone. I knew that it’s only going to get better from here on out,” he told me.

His family graciously welcomed me with open arms into their home in Yuma, Arizona allowing me to capture the “human” side to the “tech story of the century”.

Noland’s selflessness is nothing short of inspirational. Someday, a biography will be made about his life, but until that day comes - let me take this opportunity to show you Noland, “the man”, rather than Noland, “the patient”.

Healthcare and science owe a lot to trailblazers like him, and I’m glad I had the chance to meet and speak with him.

I will be sharing more clips from our meeting soon.